Criminals and Mentors
by RelightTheTorch
Summary: "There are some people who are just plain evil. Out to destroy the world for whatever selfish reason they may have." "And then there are some who are just plain good, with a heart of gold, they strike out against the darkness, in hope of driving it back to wherever it came from." This is the tale of two criminals and two mentors, and how their lives interlink with each other.
1. Beginning of the Show

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Show**

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"You know Daniel" Lucy Locke said, elbows on the bar counter, sipping away at a drink. "We have quite the effect on some people, don't ya think? I mean, this bartender was nice enough to stay open past his usual hours for us."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are criminals Lucy."

"But that's too obvious. It has to be something else…"

"Probably the fact that he thinks we will steal all his belongings if he didn't." The bartender in question was standing behind the counter, trying his best to ignore the fact that there were two wanted criminals sitting in his bar, only willing to talk if Lucy asked for another drink.

"Maybe. But he's standing right there, and I honestly think there might be something wrong with him. He hasn't spoken, once. Do you think he's alright?" The bartender looked at her for a spilt second, and she smiled at him, and he turned his head away again.

Lucy looked at Daniel, and she was honestly beginning to wonder if he was alright, never mind the bartender. He hadn't touched his drink, although that could have been something to do with the fact that he wasn't a big fan of alcohol. With his short black hair that was hanging over his face, and his weapon, a massive sword called Death's Grace, strapped to his back. She had teased him about the edginess of that name several times, and he usually just shrugged it off.

He was dressed in his usual clothes, a black suit jacket with blue accents. On the back of his jacket was his own custom emblem, a bright blue skull with two pistols sticking out either side of it. He wore black trousers with blue accents, and black shoes with blue soles. He was currently flicking through his scroll, and Lucy peeked over his shoulder to see what he was doing. He was looking through text messages, and she knew who they were from before she saw there names.

_Amy Ivankeo and Lily Silva. Can't he just let them go? _

Lucy sighed and ran a hand through her light blue dyed hair. She pulled her hood up, and laid her head down on the counter and pulled her own scroll out, flicking through stared at her for a second.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm being really miserable while looking through the texts of my sister and my ex teammate at Beacon. I also have a girl called Lucy sitting next to me who happens to be worried about me and wants to know if I'm okay." She looked up at him. "Does that answer your question?"

"You are such a comedian."

"I know. I can tell some really corny jokes too. Want to hear one?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Okay then. Yesterday, a clown opened a door for me-"

"I said I didn't want to-"

"It was such a nice jester." He groaned and slammed his face into the table. Even the bartender visibly winced.

"Lucy, that's so bad."

"I know. But if it takes your mind off of those two for a second, then personally, I think it's worth it."

"Those two? Lucy, they were my teammates at Beacon. Lily is my sister, I cared about them. Is it really so wrong for me to think about them?"

"If it causes you to act all grumpy and miserable, then yes."

"I am not grumpy and I am not miserable."

"If someone says there not grumpy, that's usually a pretty good sign that there grumpy. And you can't say I'm wrong."

Daniel sighed, and put his scroll away. He picked up his drink, looked at it for a second, and set it back down, before pushing it away. He looked at the back of her hoodie.

"Lucy, why don't you just set up a tattoo business and we can give up this criminal stuff? You're a really good artist." Lucy knew he was referring to the symbol on the back of her hoodie, she had designed it herself. A blue three headed dragon, each head breathing light blue fire.

"Well, I'm not too sure what Roman and Neo would think of that. They both get quite a kick out of all these criminal antics, you know?"

"I suppose. But if we were just going out, robbing banks, and not actually hurting anyone, it wouldn't be so bad. But now we are in a plot to destroy Beacon, thanks to Cinder. And she's threatened to hurt Amy and Lily if I don't cooperate."

"But there two experienced huntresses, no? I'm sure they could take on a fire queen and her two thugs."

"I can't take that chance."

She leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Daniel…" Suddenly, a loud shot rang out, and they both jumped back as a bullet whizzed past. The bartender was standing at the side of the counter, and somehow, someway, he had obtained a gun.

"Put… put your hands up!" He was noticeably trembling. "Don't… don't move!" Daniel slowly began to walk over to him, and he fired another shot. Daniel sidestepped it, and he dodged another volley of gun shots with rather ease. He was now right up in the bartender's face, and he grabbed the gun and forced his hand down.

_What a guy. _

"Look, I am really not in the mood to hurt anyone tonight. Just put the gun down." His tone was firm. The bartender was shaking, and with a nod, he dropped the gun, and it clattered to the floor. Daniel let go of his hand, and slowly backed away, keeping his eye on the bartender.

"I think we will be taking our leave now." He didn't take his eye off the bartender. Lucy had stuck her hands into her jeans pocket, and taken out her two daggers, named Poison and Venom, with a gun built into them, and she was juggling them like a circus performer would juggle balls. Daniel began to walk towards the door, and Lucy caught her daggers, and ran towards the door, getting there before him, and opening it for him.

"Ladies first." She grinned at him. Daniel simply sighed and walked out. Lucy looked back at the bartender, who had retrieved his gun, and was putting it back into it's original position. He caught her eye, and she gave him a cheerful wave before heading out after Daniel.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Lily Silva was woken up by someone singing loudly. That someone was a certain Amy Ivankeo. Her voice held a very high pitch to it, probably calculated to make sure that it woke Lily up. It was extremely loud and obnoxious.

"Ohhhh, we are going to become teachers at Beacon and it's going to be so great! No more travelling, no more sleeping on cold hard floors, no more-"

"Amy, can you shut up please?!"

"I'm so excited and I bet Lily is too-"

"AMY!" The singing quietened down. Lily grumbled about how immature she was, and slipped out of the bed. She walked over to the wardrobe, and threw out her clothes. A black t-shirt with the image of a white snake on it. A black jacket with a similar symbol to her brother's, except the guns that were present on either side of Daniel's skull were replaced with white roses. A pair of black pants and black and white boots which stopped below her knee. A pair of black gloves. She picked up a hairbrush and began to comb her long black hair into place. After that, she picked up the bag she had put everything in for Beacon. Her weapon, amongst other things were in there.

When she was done, she walked out into the living room, where Amy was sitting, her long white hair hanging down either sides of her head, and she was already dressed, in a unbuttoned white trench coat with a dark blue collar, which she hadn't bothered to push down. Underneath the trench coat was a simple black tunic, and she wore a pair of fingerless white gloves. Black and white biker boots were on her feet, as well as pair of black pants with white lines running down either side of them. She was still singing softly to herself, and a big smile formed over her face when Lily walked in.

"Oh Lily, guess what today is?"

"We are getting flown out to Beacon, where we are going to become teachers."

"That's right! And I can't wait! For the first time in about…" She counted out numbers on her fingers. "Seven years, we aren't going to have to worry about missions, or having to work with annoying huntsmen we don't like!"

"Yeah, instead we get to worry about getting put with annoying students, and the fact that Glynda probably still hates us from the time we attended Beacon."

"Lighten up a bit Lily. It'll be fine." She put her arm around her. "And besides, Glynda hates everyone. At least that's the impression I got from her."

"When is the bullhead coming to get us again?"

"In about, five minutes. It's a good job that I woke you up on time, or we would have been late." Amy took out her scroll and checked the message Ozpin had sent her and Lily. She let out a chuckle at what he had replied when she had immediately said yes.

"Ah, good ole Ozpin. Doesn't even bat a eyelid when students blew up the canteen."

"Oh, yeah." Lily said with a slight smile. "Food fights were the normal thing that happened."

"You can say that again." Amy put her scroll away. All of a sudden, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Oh, that must be them!" They both stood up and walked over to the door, before Lily then opened it.

"Ah yes, Miss Silva and Miss Ivankeo, it is a pleasure to see you both again!" Dr Oobleck was standing there, just as he had always been, a pair of thick rimmed glasses on his face, holding his mug of coffee in his hand. "Now come on, we have no time to waste!" He zipped away.

"And there he goes." Amy said. "How can that man move so fast?"

"It's definitely the caffeine." Lily said.

"I've heard of a sugar rush, but that just takes the biscuit. Do you have your bag?"

"Yeah, I've got it right here." Lily held it up.

"Alright then, let's rock and roll." Amy walked out the door.

"Chop, chop!" Dr Oobleck called up.

"We're coming, we're coming."

When they reached the bottom of the staircase that lead to their room, they saw the bullhead that was just parked outside. Dr Oobleck was talking to Professor Port.

"Oh, hey look, it's Professor Port!" When they both walked over to them, Port grabbed Amy's hand so hard that he might have crushed her fingers, and shook it.

"My dear girls! What a pleasure it is to see you both again!"

"Yeah, Dr Oobleck already said the same thing. Nice to see you both again too." Amy was noticeably wincing. "Now, can you let go of my hand?"

"Why of course, my apologies, my apologies." He then turned around and did the exact same thing with Lily.

"Miss Silva! I wasn't so sure you would be too willing to accept Ozpin's invitation, but it appears I was wrong!" Lily nodded, and tried to force her hand out of his grip, but it was iron strong.

"I am terribly sorry about your brother. I'm sure it must have been hard for you, seeing the dark path he went down. For both of you."

"Yeah, it wasn't the greatest thing to ever happen. I wish he was still here…" Port let go of her hand.

"But anyway! Enough of all that, let's get you on the bullhead, and get you both to Beacon!" Port jumped onto the bullhead. Amy and Lily followed after him.

Professor Ozpin himself walked over to them. He smiled at the both of them.

"So I see you accepted your teaching position." Ozpin shook both their hands. "Welcome back."

"It's a honour sir." Amy said. "We both can't wait."

"Please, do drop the formality. You can refer to me as Ozpin."

"Is… Glynda here?"

"She is, she is in the front of the bullhead, you may speak with her if you wish, but I cannot guarantee she will want to speak with you."

"Do not speak with me." A loud voice said from the front of the bullhead, undoubtedly Glynda's.

"Should we?" Amy said to Lily. "I mean…"

"Amy, I really do not think that would be the best idea."

"Alright then." Amy took a seat. "Hello Glynda!" She suddenly said in a extremely loud voice. There was no reply, and Lily tried her best not to laugh.

"Don't do that!" She whispered, but she was laughing now.

"Well, look on the bright side. At least she can't give you a detention anymore." Oobleck remarked. He took another sip as the bullhead flew on, back to Beacon.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"So, let me get this straight." Lucy said. "You were in a robbery?"

"Yes."

"And then a little girl wearing red showed up?"

"Yes. She also had a massive scythe."

"And you ran away from her?"

Roman sighed. "Yes, Lucy. That is what happened. Go on and laugh."

"Oh no, I'm not going to laugh. I just think it's rather embarrassing that you ran away from what sounds like a first year Beacon student."

"At least I actually did something!" Roman argued. "What did you two do aside from sit in a bar, drink, and take down a bartender who just happened to have a gun?!"

"We didn't just sit in a bar, we also moved around the bar. I was the only one drinking, and Daniel didn't take down the bartender, he just made him drop his gun. Therefore, everything you just said is incorrect."

"Oh my god, do you have to act like your so clever?"

"Yep." Lucy replied. Roman rolled his eyes, only to then have his hat plopped off his head. He didn't even notice until Neo appeared in front of him, holding it.

"Okay, look Neo. I am really not interested in playing the "Torchwick Chase's Neo Game". I've had a long day, so can you just give me it back?" Neo stuck out her tongue at him.

Roman sighed. "Please?"

She ran into the next room where Daniel was sitting. Roman groaned loudly and followed her.

_Torchwick chasing Neo is always fun. _Lucy smiled and followed after him. Neo was balanced on one of the chairs, daring Roman to come and get his hat. Roman looked at Daniel, who was watching with a slight smile on his face.

"Daniel, Lucy, help me out here. I'm begging you."

Neo suddenly threw the hat to Lucy, and she caught it, and passed it to Daniel, who caught it and passed it back to Neo. And thus began a game of them throwing the hat to each other while Roman tried desperately to catch it. He wasn't successful on any of the attempts.

"Guys, can you like, stop? What do I have to do to make you stop?"

Neo pointed to the freezer, wide open. She walked over and got out a ice cream carton. Walking back over, she stuffed it into Roman's face.

"Oh, there's no ice cream left. That's why your acting like a brat." She nodded her head.

"And you couldn't get some yourself because?" Neo simply pointed at the ice cream carton again, pointed at his hat, and then pointed at the door.

"So I'm not getting my hat until I get more?" She nodded again. Roman let out a moan and headed to the door.

"Alright then, I shouldn't be too long." He walked out the door. Lucy looked over at Daniel, who was smiling.

"Ah Neo." He said. "You just love torturing him don't you?" She nodded her head, a wide smile on her face.

"Just be thankful I don't annoy you as much as Neo annoys Roman." Lucy sat down next to him.

"I thank the Gods of Darkness and Light for that every day." Lucy patted him on the shoulder, and began wondering where Neo's obsession with ice cream came from.

_It's probably the hair…_

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Realising about four months later that your first chapter isn't that great, and should probably be rewritten. That's me. If you want an idea what the original first chapter was like, check out one of the reviews. **

**Yeah, it wasn't great. And if the next couple of chapters aren't as well written as this one, you'll know why. **

**Because for some reason, I liked to write like this. **

**First sentence. **

**Second sentence. **

**Third sentence. **

**Fourth sentence. **

**I should probably fix that. **

**But anyway, thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	2. First meeting

**Chapter 2: First meeting**

"Man, it's certainly been a while." Amy said, as she stepped off the ship.

"The school has not changed that much." Port said.

Lily looked around her. It looked the same, but it felt a bit different. She couldn't quite put her finger on why though.

"Well, we have to go get things sorted out. Let's see if your statement about all our students loving you is true." Ozpin said.

"I highly doubt it." Glynda said.

Glynda, Ozpin and Port walked on, but Oobleck stayed behind for a second.

He held out his hand.

"I would just like to formally welcome you back to Beacon Academy."

Both Amy and Lily shook his hand.

"Some advice involving Glynda. Just ignore everything she says, be as friendly and as upbeat with the students as you want." He sped off.

"Uh, thanks?" Lily called after him.

"Your very welcome!"

"Never mind us, Port and Oobleck haven't changed." Amy shook her head. "Anyway, let's look around, yeah?"

They walked around the school. It was just as they had remembered it. That was until they saw a certain white haired heiress walking about.

"Weiss Schnee." Amy stated. She walked over to her.

"No, you dolts! Put my bags here!"

"Yes, of course miss Schnee."

"Miss Schnee." Amy mocked. Weiss turned to her.

"And who may you be?"

"You don't know who I am? Oh, this is bad. Guess being locked up all day in your daddy's house doesn't do wonders for ones knowledge."

"Are you saying-"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Amy Ivankeo." She bowed. "And this right here is my friend Lily Silva."

"Hi."

"You act like I should know who you are."

"Well my dear Schnee, that is because if you have read any newspaper article over these past few years, me and Lily have been… rather busy. So tell me this Weiss, what is such a fragile soul such as yourself doing here? Shouldn't you be slaving away in Atlas Academy, or even better, hiding away in your fathers house, practicing for singing concerts?"

"Fragile?!"

"Yes, someone such as yourself, a girl who has been given everything in her life, will you really be able to cope with such a new and difficult lifestyle?"

"You will not use that tone with me!"

"Oh no, I'm sorry." She got down on her knees. "Please your highness, can I ask for your forgiveness?"

Lily began to snicker as Amy got up to her usual antics.

"Well, I mean…" Weiss wasn't sure how to react.

"Will you accept me as your new loyal servant for life, so I can walk into your fathers office, and may thou give me permission to punch him in the face?"

"Hey!"

Lily started to laugh.

"Something funny emo girl?"

"Woah, emo girl." Amy stood up. "So unbelievably witty." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Not like I've called Lily that a thousand times. Also, just because you're a Schnee, that does not give you the right to refer to ever as boy and girl. We are both taller, and older than you, so that would be incorrect."

"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?"

"My dear Weiss, I think I'm talking to the girl who may or may not be sitting in one of my classes." Weiss' eyes widened. "And after talking to me like that, you might just find yourself sitting in a detention." She winked.

"I, um." Weiss went very red in the face. She suddenly grabbed her bags and stormed off.

"Hey, come back! I was only messing with you! Oh, she's gone."

Lily put her arm around Amy. "Please, for my sanity, don't you dare every change."

Amy laughed. "I don't plan on it. Might take all my friends and family ultimately dying, and even than I'll probably find time for a few snarky remarks. Although I still am curious as to why a Schnee would attend Beacon..."

"And on second thought, you might have taken the mocking a tad too far." Lily said.

"Eh, probably. Ah well, nothing we can do about it now. If I get a chance, I'll apologise."

There was someone else laughing though. They both turned to see a young girl with wavy pink rose hair sitting on a bench.

"You guys, that has to be the greatest thing I've every seen."

Amy took in the young girl. She was very clearly a student. She wore a white and black jacket, underneath it was a black shirt with what Amy assumed was her family logo on it, a sword pierced between two pink flowers. She also wore black and rose pink gloves, and a pair of black and blue boots which stopped just below the knee. She was also wearing shorts.

"Enjoy that did you?" Amy said.

"Yes, very much so. I didn't realise that Amy Ivankeo could be so funny when she wanted to. Although it was at the expense of another student..." She suddenly seemed to be hit with that realisation.

"Oh trust me, if I wasn't a huntress, I'd be a stand up comedian."

But she wasn't laughing now.

Amy turned to Lily. "Didn't I say the students would love us?"

"More you than me." Lily replied. "And this is the opinion of only one student. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Aw Lily. It's okay. I know your social awkward." She drew her into a friendly headlock.

"I'm not social awkward. I'm just not as outgoing as you are." Amy ruffled her hair and let her go. They turned back to the student.

"So, I'm assuming your going to be teachers then?"

"You assumed correctly, my pink haired friend."

"Cool."

Amy took a seat next to her.

"So, what's your name?"

"Bethany."

"So I'll just call you Beth then."

"That'll do."

"You excited for Beacon?"

"Yeah, I'll be the first one in my family to be taking up this profession, so I am kinda nervous."

"Don't be. Just don't get put on a team with people you hate and you'll be fine. Isn't that right Lily?"

Lily wasn't there.

"Lily? Where did she go?"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Things were not going well for Damion Denton. He had accidentally tripped over some girl and now he was worried she was mad.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Watch where your going!"

She stood back up and offered a hand to him. He accepted it and she pulled him up. The girl had auburn coloured hair, and wore a long crimson red dress, along with some high heeled boots of the same colour. She also wore black gloves. Damion thought she looked rather pretty. He wasn't the flirty type though, so he kept that information to himself.

"Is that your combat attire?"

"Yes, got a problem with that?"

"Well, isn't fighting in heels extremely difficult? Wouldn't that restrict your movement?"

"No, why would it?"

"Because their…. heels. They have a, um, pointy bit at the bottom."

"That's the best excuse you can up with?" She asked.

"Right, I'm not a girl, but I just thought it would be hard."

"Well, it's not."

"Thanks for that."

They stood their in awkward silence for a few moments.

"So, do you, um, want to take a walk?"

"Sure. That would be nice."

They began to walk, Damion desperately trying to think up a topic of conversation.

"What's your name?"

"Samantha Uceda, but you can just call me Sam. You?"

"Damion Denton. You can call me, um, mr DD?"

"No, I'll just call you Damion."

"Sure, that's cool. So, Samantha, sorry, I mean Sam, tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well, I like reading books, I mediate sometimes, and well, that's about it."

"I'm a madman. I can be extremely excitable sometimes, and I just love having fun. That's all you really need to know."

"Okay."

That's when Lily walked past them. Samantha stared at her for a moment.

"Woah, it's Lily Silva. She and Amy are the ones who killed that new type of Grimm, right?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't read the news."

"What reason would you have for not reading it?"

"Bores me."

"Typical male."

"Hey!"

"I'm joking, I'm joking."

"So you pointed her out. Do you want to go talk to her or something?"

"It would be nice to get some advice from a experienced huntress, we are only first years."

"True. We'll do that then."

They both walked over to her. She seemed lost in thought.

"Hey, you wouldn't be Lily Silva?"

She turned to them.

"I would be."

"Well, while we had the chance, I just thought we would ask you if you have any advice for us as first years?"

"While you have the chance? You'll have the chance throughout the entire year."

Damion looked confused. "But, won't you have to get back out there and fight Grimm?"

"We're becoming teachers. Me and Amy."

"Of course. I knew that." He stated.

Samantha rolled her eyes and pointed to him and mouthed "He seems a bit silly". Lily smirked.

"What are you saying about me?"

"Nothing."

"Anyway, let me tell you this. In terms of teams, you don't really get a say in who is on your team, you get flung off into a forest, and told that the first person you make eye contact with is your partner."

"Oh. That hardly seems fair." Damion said.

"Ozpin doesn't do fair. The one thing you can do is try and land close to one another, but when your hurtling through the air and the ground is threatening to squash you, that's probably the least of your worries."

"True."

"But no matter who you are paired up with, remember that these are the people you are going to be with for the next four years, so try and get along. You don't have to like each other, it helps, but it's not and Amy weren't exactly big fans of each other, but look at us now! We are inseparable. She's like a sister to me. I love her so much."

"SURPRISE!" Amy had snuck up behind Lily.

"AH!" Lily fell over. "I hate you so much!"

Damion, Samantha and Bethany all burst out laughing.

"Why'd you wander off on us?"

"If we're going to become the most popular teachers in the school, people kind of have to know we're going to be teachers in the first place, don't they?"

Amy grinned. "Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"I said that before and you, uhh!" Amy helped her up.

"Well, that was certainly something." Damion said.

"Lily, who have you been talking to?"

"These two. They asked me for advice. They are..." She waved her hand at them.

"Damion Denton.

"Samantha Uceda."

"There you are."

"Oh, and by the way Damion and Samantha, this is Bethany."

"Hello."

"So, what subjects are you two going to be teaching?" Samantha asked.

"That's…."

Amy and Lily were both hit with the realisation that they didn't know. Ozpin hadn't told them.

"We actually haven't been told, oddly enough."

"But wouldn't that be like, the first thing Ozpin would have told you?" Bethany asked.

"When you put it like that… It is a bit strange."

"Did you have to undergo teacher training?"

"No, we didn't…" Amy and Lily looked at each other.

"Well, this is awkward." Damion said. "Doesn't that mean it's technically illegal for you two to be teachers now?"

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

Every since she was a kid, Lucy loved to draw. She used to draw all the time, comic books, pictures, you name it, she had probably drawn at least one iteration of it. In fact, she was set to enrol at a art school, before….

Before he had ruined everything. He had came into her life, and ruined it all.

_Don't think about him. He's dead now. That's all that matters._

There was no way he could have survived. No way.

Taking a deep breath, she flicked through her sketch pad.

With Cinder and co constantly demanding that she and Daniel go out onto heists, rob dust shops, she didn't have much time for it anymore. And that was a real shame, because it was almost like a form of mediation. It was relaxing, calming, and it put her at peace in this now chaotic life she lived in.

Just as she had found a pencil, a knock on the door sounded, and Neo poked her head in. After yesterday's shenanigans, Roman had managed to retrieve his hat.

She pointed her thumb behind her, motioning that she should come out.

"What is it Neo?"

Neo made a sitting down motion, and pretended to file through paperwork, she then did a imitation of a cackling laugh.

"Cinders called a meeting? What is it now?"

Neo shrugged.

Lucy stood up, and followed her out the door. They walked into the meeting, except they weren't greeted with Cinder. They were greeted with Mercury and Emerald.

"Seems the lapdogs have finally came out to play." Roman said.

"Could Cinder not be bothered with showing up? Typical." Daniel said.

"It's because she doesn't have time for such low life criminals." Mercury said.

"Your one to talk."

"Anyway" Emerald said. "We're here to tell you about the next stages of our plan."

"Let's hope it's actually something reasonable this time." Roman muttered.

"After that last robbery where Roman couldn't even stop a little girl," Mercury snickered. "She has decided that you may all benefit from a better workforce."

"So no more hiring men from nightclubs?"

"Yep."

"Finally! We'll get a workforce that's actually competent." Daniel said. "Who's it going to be?"

"The White Fang."

Roman dropped the cigar he was holding. "The White Fang?"

"You heard me right."

"Now, I don't know if you've noticed, but the White Fang aren't exactly the biggest fans of humans."

"They're reluctant enough to work with Cinder as it is." Daniel continued. "Do you really think they're going to want to work with us?"

"They don't have a choice." Mercury said simply. "And Adam Taurus knows that."

"Ah, bull boy. This'll be fun." Roman said.

"Will that all be then?" Lucy asked.

"I think so."

"Well, I think I've seen enough of you two for today."

"Why? Do you not like us?" Mercury said.

"Your only noticing?"

"What have we ever done to you?"

"Oh, gee, I wonder." Daniel said. "How about doing absolutely nothing, sitting with Cinder in your own cosy room, while the rest of us are out there, robbing dust shops and scheming?"

"It's not our time to get involved yet."

"What? The least you could do is help us plan our robbery's."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. We don't have time for low life criminals. Your not important, your just the hired help."

"And you are just two street rats plucked up by Cinder." Roman said. "Might explain why you worship her then."

"We don't worship her. We just work for her."

"Oh really? Explain to me then, why whenever she walks into a room, you look like you want to get down on your knees and kiss her feet?" Lucy said.

"You can't say anything. You probably do the same thing with Daniel." Mercury said.

"At least Daniel doesn't manipulate me into thinking that he cares about me. I mean, how have you two not noticed that Cinder is only using you to further her end goal?"

"She is not." Emerald snarled.

"Do you really believe that? Emerald, the greatest illusion you have cast isn't on someone else, but on yourself, thinking that Cinder actually cares about you."

Emerald advanced onto her and slapped her across the face.

Mercury grabbed her and pulled her back.

"It's not worth it Em."

"Listen up here you two." Daniel said. "I would like nothing more than to wipe those smirks off your faces. You prance around, acting like you're the ones in charge here. But let me tell you, what if Cinder wasn't here? You would be nothing. Useless brats. The only reason you two have that attitude with us, is because you know that if we dare even touch you, all you have to do is call onto mommy Cinder to protect you."

"Shut up!"

"Calm down Emerald!" Mercury hissed.

"What's wrong? Can't accept that I'm right? Want to fly at me in a flurry of fists and kicks? The only place that would get you is down on the ground, because any one of us is worth the two of you. And if you haven't realised that yet, you need to take a serious look at yourself."

Mercury dragged Emerald away.

Daniel sighed.

"Bunch of stupid kids. How have they not realised yet?"

"Look on the bright side. At least now we'll have a competent workforce." Lucy said. She touched the side of her face. "To give credit where credit is due, she can slap pretty hard."

"Let's hope the White Fang are as good as they say they are." Roman lit another cigar. Neo started tugging on his sleeve.

"Yes, we'll go to that ice cream place now." They both left.

"Hey, Dan?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think any of us could take Merc or Em in a two versus one fight?"

"I could. You could. Neo could. While it pains me to say it, they're both more skilled than Roman. Roman is more clever though, so he probably could."

"Another thing. Why do you think Neo is so obsessed with ice cream?"

"I would want to say it's her hair colour, and her name, but there's probably more to it than that."

Lucy shrugged and laid down on the couch. "Your probably right."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**The old classic RWBY fan-fiction myth. Neo's obsession with ice cream.**

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	3. Initation

**Chapter 3: Initiation **

Samantha woke up to the sounds of people beginning to wake up. Stretching, she stood up herself. There seemed to be a bit of commotion going on. A large group of students were gathered in a circle.

Yawning, she noticed Damion and walked over to him.

"What's going on?"

"Take a look for yourself."

She than noticed Amy and Lily, both passed out on the floor. They had been tasked with watching over the students while they slept, only for both of them to fall asleep themselves.

Damion muscled his way through the other students, and knelt down. He slammed his hands down beside Lily's head, hoping to wake her up.

She jolted awake, and stared up at him.

"Did you have to do that?"

"Well, you were both asleep."

"Oh no, my back. The floor is definitely not very comfortable."

She tapped Amy on the side of the face.

"W-What?"

"We both fell asleep."

"We did? Oh."

Amy sat up, and winced. "That's probably the worst back cramp I've every had."

"We've slept in worse conditions."

All the students had walked away by that point, and had started to get changed.

Someone walked up to Amy. He was already dressed. He had blonde hair, and wore a black coat, with a picture of a tiger on the back of it. He also wore a pair of black trousers, and red shoes.

"I assume initiation is today?"

"Well, aren't you clever?"

"So is it?"

"Yes. Let's hope you have a landing strategy."

He nodded and walked away. Amy and Lily both left the room.

"I can't believe we fell asleep." Lily groaned. She still wasn't fully awake.

"Well, we were tasked with staying awake all night. I don't know what Ozpin was expecting."

**_Criminals and Mentors _**

Later on, just before initiation was due to start, Amy and Lily were feeling a lot better.

That was until Ozpin dropped something else onto their heads.

"You will be required to explain the initiation process to the students."

They were both stunned into silence. "W-What?"

"You heard me correct."

"Are you serious?" Amy said.

He raised his hands in defence. "Not my idea. It was Glynda's."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Initiation is starting in a few minutes."

"Wait, how does it work?"

"Same way as it did when you were here."

"Kill the Grimm, find the relics?" Lily then began wondering how she somehow remembered that.

"Pretty much."

"Shouldn't be too hard than."

They both began to walk over to the Emerald Forest.

They passed Glynda. Amy stopped her.

"I see what your doing here. Your trying to embarrass us, aren't you? Trying to make us humiliate ourselves? Well, it's not going to work, so you might as well not bother."

Glynda said nothing and walked on.

"She thinks she can one up us? No one gets a advantage over me." Lily said.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Everyone was standing on the panels, ready for takeoff. Now, it was time for Amy and Lily to prove to Glynda that they were capable of actually talking to the students.

"So, as you have probably gathered, this is initiation. Your task is very simple." Amy said. "Get the relic, get to the mountains, don't die. Just stick to that central path, and you should be able to find it easy enough. Oh, and there's Grimm in the forest. And before any of you ask, the partner selection process is also very simple. The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the rest of your time at Beacon."

"What?!"

"A very reliable way to decide things. So anyway, I think that about sums it up. Let's start."

People began to be launched off into the forest.

"Huh, there only doing it one by one." Lily commented. "Back when we did it, they launched everyone at the same time."

When everyone had finished being sent into the forest, Professor Ozpin and Glynda walked over. Amy smirked at Glynda.

"Guess your little plan didn't work, huh?"

"That was terrible. You explained that in the vaguest terms. And very quickly."

"Well, there's no need to to turn it into a hour long boring lecture."

"A little more of a detailed explanation wouldn't have gone amiss."

"And a little less of a "I have to terrify students" attitude wouldn't go amiss."

"You need to assert your dominance."

"You need to assert that you actually kind of care about them."

"I've been doing this for far longer, I know how this works."

"Well, when Ozpin fires you in favour of me, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Ladies, let's focus on monitoring the students shall we?"

Ozpin handed Amy and Lily a scroll hooked up to the different cameras around the forest.

Amy began scrolling through. She raised a eyebrow.

"Seems someone is in a bit of a sticky situation."

"Amy, that was a terrible joke." Lily said.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_How did this happen? _

That was the question Alan O'Malloy kept asking himself. Amy was right, he did have a landing strategy. But as soon as he had landed, a giant spider Grimm had wrapped him up in it's webs. And here he was, thinking initiation might go okay. He was already about to die.

He struggled against the webs, trying to break free. The Grimm leant down, hissing in his face, and he got some Grimm saliva all over him. Lovely.

It opened it's mouth, and for a split second, he saw his life flash before his eyes, before a gun shot rocketed out of the darkness, blasting into its face. It jumped back, and faced it's new adversary.

He couldn't get himself free though, no matter how hard he tried. The webs were thick and strong. The spider charged into the forest, and Alan thought whoever was there was surely done for. That's until a girl jumped into the clearing, and ran towards him, wielding two swords. When she got to him, she began to cut him out.

"How did you-"

"Distracted it."

She began to cut through the webs. Eventually, he was able to pull himself free. She held out a hand.

"Bethany."

He shook it.

"Alan."

The roars of the Grimm could be heard.

"We should get out of here."

"Agreed."

They both set off running.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Seems our first pairs have already been formed."

Ozpin looked down at his scroll.

"We have, Miss Schnee and Miss Rose, Mr Arc and Miss Nikos, Miss Brennan and Mr O'Malloy and Miss Xiao Long and Miss Belladonna.

Amy was looking at Weiss and Ruby. "Is it just me," She said to Lily." Or does Weiss' partner look a bit young to be attending Beacon?"

Lily looked on her own scroll. "Huh, your not wrong. She must be of age though, otherwise Ozpin wouldn't have let her in."

Speaking of Ozpin, he was flicking through his own scroll.

"Also, is it just me, or does that Arc person look extremely incompetent at combat? He just got taken out a by a tree branch."

Lily sniggered. "I remember at initiation, when we were first made partners, you tripped over a rock. You can't say anything."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Your brain is very selective of the information you like to keep." She flicked around to where Damion was fighting a bunch of Grimm.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Woohoo!"

Damion was having the time of his life. How someone could have fun while fighting man killing monsters was a mystery, but he was somehow managing it.

A Boarbatusk rolled towards him, but he jumped over it, and shot it with his pistol swords, called SplinterFire. He leapt over a Beowolf strike, and kicked it over the head. He then struck out at it, chopping off it's head. He then uppercut another one, and then a Ursa lumbered it's way towards him. Bracing himself for it, he was about to take it out, until a whip sword came flying out in front of him, wrapping around it's neck, strangling it and causing the Ursa to fall over. Damion was about to stab it, but Samantha already had that covered, slashing it across the back, killing it.

"Hey that was my kill."

"Don't be such whiner." She smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Should we find this temple then?"

"Sure."

They both set off.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Bethany and Alan had made it to the temple. The relics were in sight. There was no one else about.

"Are we the first ones here?" Bethany asked.

"No, some of the relics are gone, look."

"Oh right, wait."

They examined the relics.

"Chess pieces?"

"Do we just take one?"

"I assume so."

They ended up taking the bishop.

"So, what now?"

"Hey, Beth!"

They turned around to see Damion and Samantha coming over the hill. "Glad to see we aren't the only ones who made it."

They both walked over to them, and Damion eyed up Alan. "Who's this guy?"

"Alan. He got caught in some spider Grimm's webs, but I managed to get him out."

"Cool."

Damion and Samantha walked over to the relics.

"Always do enjoy a game of chess." Samantha commented.

"Chess is boring. Too much waiting around for people to do stuff." Damion said.

"It's a game for intellectuals. Boys aren't known for being smart."

"That's a bit sexist! Not to mention very stereotypical."

"Damion, I'm seriously starting to worry that you have no clue what a joke is."

"That's not a joke! That's a insult."

They both also chose the bishop.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Now for the most difficult task of all. Deciding on team names." Ozpin said.

Amy was thinking about Bethany, Damion, Alan and Samantha. She wondered what they could potentially be called. She turned to Lily.

"Any ideas?"

"Maybe team SABD?"

"What would that translate to?"

"Saboteur?"

"That could work…."

"What about the team leader though?"

"Lily, I've told you this before. Team leader doesn't mean anything. It's just a fancy title. In fact, I think the whole concept of it should be scrapped. Some people might take it too literally, and let it get to their head, and start looking down on their teammates for it. It really doesn't matter, and the students need to realise it."

"Okay then."

"Anyway, SABD isn't a bad idea. How about…"

"DSAB? Disable?"

"That's another good o-"

Then she got it.

"Lily, I've got the perfect one. Team BDAS."

"Badass?"

"It's perfect, right? Ozpin?"

"Yes?"

"I think I've got a name. Team BDAS."

Glynda stared at them. "That is entirely unprofessional."

"Doesn't need to be professional."

"Does."

"Doesn't."

"Does."

"Doesn't."

Ozpin raised a eyebrow. "We do try our best to uphold the tradition of naming teams after colours, so I'm not too sure on that one."

"But it captures the team perfectly. A bunch of badasses!" Lily said.

"True, but still…"

"Unless you would rather team saboteur? Or disable? They aren't colours either! There is no possible way to make a colour out of those letters."

"Hmm…"

"Ozpin I am begging you…" Glynda said. "Don't-"

"Okay, BDAS it is then."

Glynda put her face in her hands. "Why do I even try?"

"Don't worry Goodiewitch, I'm sure we can…"

"If you call me Goodiewitch, I will make sure this next year is a living hell for you."

Amy shrugged. "Alright then, Goodiewitch."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Team BDAS were contemplating what to do next, when the sounds of a fight caught their attention. Looking towards the bridge, they could see that Team RWBY and JNPR were doing battle with a Nevermore and a Deathstalker.

"Woah, we should help them out." Damion said. Just as they were about to run towards the other side of the bridge, the giant spider Grimm came crashing in, eyeing them up. It roared and charged at them.

"Not good, not good, not good!" Damion kept shouting as they all threw themselves to the side to dodge the spiders swipe. It made a noise that could have been a snarl, but it charged for them again.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Is that a…" Amy drew in a sharp breath. "An ArchaneTerror?"

"I think it is." Lily replied.

"Ozpin" Amy was beginning to get worried. "Ozpin, that's a ArchaneTerror."

"And?"

"And?! And we need to do something! I've fought that thing before! There's no way they'll be able to…"

"Amy, calm yourself. Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck are on standby, should assistance be needed."

Amy began chewing on her bottom lip. She didn't know why she was nervous, they wouldn't have got to this point if they didn't know how to fight. But still…

They looked so small, and it was so big.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Hello there Mr…" Daniel indicated for the Lieutenant to tell him his second name.

The Lieutenant simply looked at him, and walked on.

"Not one for a chat." Lucy said.

Other White Fang members walked in, and none of them seemed to want to introduce themselves, aside from one.

He stopped, and bowed his head.

"Perry." Daniel shook his hand.

"At least someone has decent manners around here." Roman commented.

When the White Fang has finished coming in, Daniel began to talk to them. "So, let's just address the elephant in the room. I am sure none of you are particularly pleased with having to work with humans. It's not really a part of the White Fang motto. But, unfortunately, you don't have a choice. See, Cinder has told us that we need to work with you, and as I am sure you know, you don't get on Cinder's bad side, or else she incinerates you. It's really that simple."

"Anyway, down to business. Our job is very simple. We need to grab all the dust in Vale. Now, I'm sure your asking yourself, why Daniel, do we need to get every bit of dust in Vale? Well, I don't know myself, because Cinder apparently doesn't think it's important to share your plans with the people your working with. "

"So, if we are too nab every bit of dust, we're going to need a plan. And this is where my brilliant strategic mind comes into play. Now that we don't have to rely on men from Junior anymore, we can afford to spread ourselves out a bit. So here's what I'm thinking. Me and Lucy will stay around this area of the city, Roman and Neo will go to the west of the Vale," He pointed towards the map on the wall. "Then the Lieutenant will go to the East of the Vale. Between all of that, we should be able to clean up Vale in the next few months. I have allocated hideouts on the map. Any questions?"

Someone raised their hand.

"Yes?"

"Shouldn't we focus more on this town? Beacon Academy isn't too far away, they might-"

"Oh, don't you worry about Beacon Academy. Any pesky kids come along, we'll soon put a stop to that."

"What if they're more than just pesky kids though? What if their actual huntsmen?"

"What, do you really think their going to waste their time on us? With all these new Grimm popping up, the huntsmen are too busy dealing with them."

"New Grimm?"

"Haven't you heard? Lately we've been getting spiders, monkeys, bats, lions, all sorts of different animals."

"That's all I needed to tell you. You may leave now."

The White Fang began to pour out.

Daniel turned to Lucy.

"Short and sweet."

"Short, but definitely not sweet. Do you really think they'll listen to us?"

"They won't want to, but they don't have a choice. Cinder could kill Adam with a flick of her finger."

"I hate Cinder so much. I want her dead."

Daniel sighed. "Me too Lucy, me too."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Amy and Glynda don't like each other. **

**In other news, dinosaurs are extinct. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	4. Spider Warfare

**Chapter 4: Spider Warfare**

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

The spider began to chase team BDAS through the forest, cutting them off from the bridge. It smashed through trees, and soon, they came to a cliff, that stretched very far down.

"That's a long drop." Damion commented. "We fall down there, we die."

They turned as the spider crashed through towards them. It snarled at them, and then shot out some webs. Dodging to the side, Bethany looked the creature up and down, trying to find a weak point.

_What about the eyes, the underbelly? _

Those were two possibilities. But then again…

_Maybe we can try and lead it off the cliff? _

It rushed them, and for a split second, Bethany thought that it would clumsily fall down the cliff, but after everyone had jumped out of the way, it turned itself, and came to a sudden halt.

"Guys, run back into the forest! It's too dangerous out here!"

Any one of them could be knocked off at a moments notice. To Bethany's surprise, they all listened to her.

However, the spider was having none of that. It jumped into the air, landing in front of them, forcing them back towards the cliff. Drawing their weapons, they charged back at it.

It swiped at Samantha, who ducked underneath it, and slashed at it, and Damion jumped into the fray, shooting at it's underbelly, and it reared back a bit. Alan switched his hand gauntlets into claw form, jumping up onto it's head, and slashing away at the eyes.

The spider shook it's head, trying to throw him off, only for Alan to jump onto it's back, and ran down it, hacking away at it, but doing very little damage to it. It managed to throw him off, and he landed hard against one of the trees. Bethany took a shot at one of it's eyes, and the spider swivelled it's body to the side, so her shot flew past it, knocking over a tree. Samantha whipped her sword out at the underbelly, getting a clean cut, and the spider roared once again, and it swiped at her, and she was barely able to dodge in time.

Damion tried to jump onto it's back, only for it to throw out a few webs, catching him and knocking him down to the ground. Struggling to get free, the spider reared it's front legs up, ready to crush him, before Samantha wrapped her sword around it's back ones, causing it to lose balance, and fall over. Alan cut Damion free, and they renewed their assault. All four of them hacked away at it's underbelly, and it struggled to get back up. Eventually, they all jumped off as it stood back up, glaring daggers at them.

The spider ran for them , but instead of meeting them head on, it jumped into the air, catching them all by surprise and while Damion and Alan were quick enough to move out of the way, Bethany and Samantha weren't so lucky, getting smashed backwards, and Bethany was able to stab her two swords into the ground, slowing herself down right before she went over. Samantha went flying past her, and she went hurtling over the edge.

"Samantha!"

Time seemed to slow down. And then Bethany realised, it was because she had slowed down.

There was a grey aura lingering around Samantha, and she was falling incredibly slowly.

_Can she slow down time? _

There was no time to dwell on that though, as Bethany stuck out one of her swords, and Samantha grabbed it, and the grey aura disappeared, and time sped up again.

Damion and Alan tried to draw the spiders attention to them, but it was focused solely on the two girls. It brought it's leg down, ready to crush Bethany, but she backflipped over the edge, and stabbed her blade into the rock, and it held firm. She was now hanging off the cliff, and Samantha was still holding her sword.

"Well, that was smart of you, wasn't it? How do you propose we get back up?"

The spider peered over the edge and Alan jumped onto it's head once again, and forced it to focus on him. Damion went for it too.

Bethany harnessed all her aura through her muscles, and tried to haul Samantha up. She was able to get her level with her blade, which was still holding. Samantha grabbed it with the hand she was holding her weapon with, and she let go of Bethany's sword, and grabbed it with her other hand. The sword held fast under their two weights.

"Try and climb up!"

"Will this sword hold my weight?"

"Should do."

Samantha hauled herself up onto the blade, and she tried to stand up on it. She nearly slipped, but was able to save herself.

"Damion!"

He looked over at them, looked back at Alan, who was harassing the spider like there was no tomorrow, and ran over to her, and outstretched his hand. She jumped up and grabbed it, and he was able to pull her over. Samantha looked down at Bethany, and she waved her hand at her.

"Go help Alan!"

"Will you be able to-"

"I'll be fine!"

Her arms were beginning to burn, but she stabbed her other sword in and began to climb up, by simultaneously putting one sword in, drawing the other one out, and putting that one back in a bit higher, and repeating. Her muscles were screaming, but she kept on climbing.

Samantha and Damion rejoined Alan, who jumped off it, and allowed Damion to jump up and slash one of it's eyes out. It hissed in pain, and knocked him backwards.

Bethany had managed to pull herself up, and assessed the situation.

_Our best bet is probably to knock it off. _

It was very close to the edge. The four of them resembled themselves in front of it. It turned to face them, but in doing so, it's two back legs went over the edge, throwing it off balance. In trying to pull itself back up, Bethany ran up and chopped out it's other eye. That disoriented it.

"Everyone stand back!" Damion called out. His guns were now glowing with a orange light.

He took aim and began to fire. Bullet after bullet came flying out of his guns, at a ridiculous fast speed, and they seemed highly explosive too. When he had finished, the spider stayed still for a second, before slowly falling back into the abyss.

"Well, that's that problem sorted out." Damion said. "We can go and help those two other teams now."

Upon arriving at the bridge, they noticed something ghastly. The bridge had been destroyed.

And in the distance, they saw a Nevermore being hauled up the side of a cliff.

"Seems they've already got this covered."

When Ruby had reached the top of the mountain, she chopped it's head straight off it's body.

"Impressive." Damion stated. Then he looked at the bridge. "Wait, how are we supposed to get across?"

"Excellent students, excellent, excellent, excellent!" Dr Oobleck zipped into view. "I was watching your fight with the Grimm from above, and I must say, you all performed exceptionally." Another sip from the mug. "Well done."

Four more students came trampling through the forest. They were all men, and they looked exhausted.

Dr Oobleck took another sip."Not so good for you, Mr Winchester."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Well, if it's not Adam Taurus himself."

Adam said nothing and took a seat. The Lieutenant appeared next to him.

"You called me here, you best have something important to tell me." Adam stated.

"Well, I do." Daniel said. "See, we are aware that you have been quite busy in Atlas, cracking down on these rumours that Faunus Labour is still ongoing. And thus, you have not given us all of your men."

"If we are to every achieve our equality, we need to. While I may be helping Cinder, that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on our people!"

"And I'm very aware of that. Quite frankly, I'm all for Faunus equality. But Cinder has requested that you move your men away from there, and bring all of them here."

"What?! Why?"

"She told me that we need all of them here. Didn't tell me why. Assumedly, it's to help speed up our dust operation."

"If you think for even a second that I'm going to lend every man I have over to some low life criminals like you and your pals-"

"Is there a problem?" Cinder had arrived. Adam growled.

"Adam, when Beacon has fallen, you will have all the time you need to pursue your need for Faunus equality. But for now…" She stepped closer to him. "Let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?"

Adam lowered his head, and Daniel took notice of the fact that his hand tightened around Wilt. "Very well then. I will move every man I have over to here. Please do remember though, that I am doing this without our high leaders blessing, so I cannot guarantee that your workforce will be much larger."

He stood up, and left the room. Daniel turned to Cinder.

"So, what exactly was that all about?"

"Not much. Adam was still running amends in Mistral and Atlas. I think it would be better if he put all his efforts into our operation. Speaking of which, how are the dust robbery's going?"

"Bit slow, but we'll get there eventually."

"Good."

Cinder walked away.

_End it now. Pick up Death's Grace. Drive it through her back. Then you'll be free from her grasp. _

But Daniel wasn't stupid. While he may possibly have the advantage in hand to hand, Cinder had the maiden powers, and her two lackeys. It was a battle he just couldn't win.

He had debated with himself whether to plot her death, or to just wait until after Beacon fell and hope she would let them go.

He still had to figure that out. And if he was going to do it, he would have to get Lucy, Neo, and Roman in it too. He could hear Cinder talking to Mercury and Emerald. While he may hate Merc and Em, he couldn't help but feel sorry for them. The fact they thought Cinder cared for them, must have meant they weren't brought up very well.

He was still mulling over her possible assassination, when two hands began rapidly tapping him on the shoulder.

"Yes Lucy?"

"Just got back from Juniors."

"What we're you talking about?"

"I just told him that we aren't going to be coming back to him for men, and he seemed fine with that."

"What about the twins?"

"They brightened up when I came in. And then sulked when they realised you weren't there."

"They really have a thing for me, don't they? Especially Miltia. Melanie just seems quite nervous around me, and she blushes a lot."

"The Angel and the Devil. One is feisty, the other one is more calm and peaceful."

"Exactly."

"I noticed you talking to Cinder. What did she want?"

"Not much. Adam came in, told me he wasn't going to lend us any more men, Cinder intimated him, he does agree to lend us more men, the usual."

"Have you had any more thoughts on potentially, you know." She drew her finger across her neck. "Killing her."

Daniel sighed. "Not really. I'll need to think about it some more."

"Not right now, your not. Come on. Junior lent me this." She held up a DVD.

It was called _Oblivion. _

"What's it about?"

"From what he told me, it's about a guy caught on a spaceship, and some monstrosity is chasing him about."

"No, they're terrible! Too many cheap jump scares!"

"You know I love stuff like that. What's wrong, are you scared?"

"No, of course not. But I'm telling you, it's going to be bad."

They walked into another room. Neo and Roman were already waiting.

"Stick it in then."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

The ceremony was taking place where Ozpin was introducing the teams. He had just announced CRDL, RWBY and JNPR. Bethany, Damion, Alan and Samantha all took their places.

"Bethany Brennan, Damion Denton, Alan O'Malloy and Samantha Uceda. The four of you collected the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, the four of you will work together as…"

He looked to his left, to where Amy was standing. She grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"Team BDAS." Glynda, who was standing next to Lily, sighed very loudly.

"Lead by Bethany Brennan."

Amy looked at her. Bethany's face was one of pure shock and dismay. She began fidgeting with her hands.

"Well done, young lady."

"Um, th-thank you, sir."

They all walked off.

"I think that just about concludes our ceremony. I would like to wish all our new students the best of luck in their studies, and a great first year at Beacon. Thank you." There was a round of applause as Ozpin stepped off the stage, and people began to leave.

Amy and Lily were waiting by the main doors.

"Well done guys!" Amy said, when team BDAS walked out. "You were all awesome!"

"You think we were awesome?" Damion said. "Check out your little girl in red! Running up the side of a mountain with a Nevermore!"

"We saw."Lily turned to Bethany. "Congrats on being made team leader!"

"Thanks." Her smile seemed rather forced. "I… wasn't expecting that honestly."

"Well, we all thought you were the best fit for the role." Amy said. She grinned. "Although, in my very non biased opinion, I don't think team leader really matters. They don't necessarily have more power, or have the right to frown down upon their teammates. It's just a fancy title."

Bethany crossed her arms and turned away from them.

"So, who's this-" Amy blinked when she realised Alan was gone. "Oh, the old disappearing act."

Alan was talking to Blake. "So, you said you like books. What kind of books?"

"Well, I do mainly read romantic novels, although I do enjoy a good sci fi every once in a while."

"Cool. If you don't mind me asking, is that bow on top of your head, like real?"

She readjusted it.

"No, no. It's just something I like to wear."

"Right…" He didn't sound entirely convinced. "So-"

"Who's this your talking to Blake?" Yang appeared next to her partner. "Oh, hi there!"

"Hello. I'm Alan."

"Yang. Are you the team who fought a giant spider?"

"Mhmm."

"Neat. Was it a particular, sticky situation?"

"Yang!"

"That's my joke!" Amy announced. She had made their way over to them. "That's my joke, I claim it, it's mine."

"Oh, you must be the new teacher."

"And me!" Lily popped out from behind her.

"So, what are you guys teaching?"

"Eh….."

"Ozpin hasn't told us yet." Amy spoke up. "For some reason."

"Cool."

"Yang, Blake, come on!"

"There's my younger sister calling me now. See you guys later!" Yang and Blake walked off.

"Well, that was-"

"I have been instructed to-" Dr Oobleck appeared out of nowhere. "Ah, I was supposed to show you to your dormitories, but if Miss Ivankeo and Miss Silva are already involved in a conversation with you, it would be impolite to disturb you, so, I will allow them to do the honours instead!" He threw a piece of paper at Amy, which she caught, before he sped off again.

Damion asked the question everyone was thinking. "What did he just say?"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"_OH NO, IT'S THE MONSTER ITSELF! AH, IT'S GOT ME-" _

"You were right Daniel. This is pretty bad. "

They observed as the three headed monstrosity tore the man apart.

"That has to be some of the worst CGI I've ever seen." Roman muttered. Neo has already eaten all the popcorn, so they were just stuck there, trapped in a endless loop of cliche jump-scares, bad acting, and terrible blood effects.

"I can feel my sanity slowly slipping away." Daniel said, as the monster was shown climbing through the air vents.

It lunged for the screen, and then the screen made a static noise, and everything went black.

"Any second now." Lucy said. "Brace yourself."

But nothing happened. The screen stayed black.

"Eh, guess it's over." Roman said, standing back up. "Shame."

That's what they thought, until Lucy tried to take the disc out. It wouldn't come out. "Stupid thing."

The screen remained black for a second, before noises could be heard.

"Is it over or not?"

The noise was getting louder and louder, until it stopped all of a sudden.

Then text appeared on the screen. _He will save us all. _

"I honestly think this might be broken." Lucy said.

Neo began staring. Daniel and Roman just couldn't be bothered. The music began to rile up, and when it reached it's climax…

Nothing happened.

"Well, that was a bit-"

A loud shriek was heard as the monster popped back up on the screen.

"AH!" Both Lucy and Neo were caught off guard. Neo stumbled back, hand on her heart.

The disc slowly came out of the DVD player.

"You got scared! After you were saying about how non scary it was!"

"Shut up!"

Daniel and Roman were both laughing. "Aw, did the big bad monster scare you?" Roman ruffled Neo's hair. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"That's a new one." Lucy said. "The, make the rest of the movie bad and then catch you at the very end."

"A new one? You keep note or something?" Roman said.

"Horror is probably my favourite genre. I know all their tricks, at least I thought I did. I'll still be taking it back to Junior though."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Very spooky. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	5. Doubts

**Chapter 5: Doubts**

_Lead by Bethany Brennan… Lead by Bethany Brennan… Lead by…_

"Hello, Beth? Are you there?" Damion was waving his hands in front of her face. "Hello?"

"I'm here, I'm here…"

"Ah, that's okay. Thought we'd lost you there. You alright?"

"Yeah… sure, I'm fine."

Those words kept playing in her head. She couldn't believe that she had been made team leader.

_Isn't it determined by how you did in initiation? What did I do besides hang off a mountain? _

No, she didn't want this. She didn't want to be leader. This wasn't right, there had to be a mistake.

She couldn't be leader. She would drag them all down with her. She wasn't ready for…

She noticed that Amy and Lily had already walked on. Samantha and Alan were following them. Damion was still looking at her, a concerned expression on his face.

"Are you sure your okay? You can-"

"I'm fine." She walked past him, and they hurried to catch up with the others.

"Let's see…" Amy was looking at the dormitory number. "Where is that again? Lily, help me out here. I don't remember."

"Um, I think this is the way? Sorry guys, we haven't been here in years. I don't know…"

"Is that it there?" Alan said. They came to a stop at room _45\. _

"I knew that. I was just… testing you, yeah, testing you." Amy said.

"Testing what?"

"Your sense of, um, never mind that! Anyway, let's go in." She opened the door and peered inside.

Team BDAS entered. "This is pretty big." Damion commented.

"Yep. You guys are lucky. Our dormitories were smaller." Lily said. "As in there was literally just four beds and a table. That was it."

"What? You've even got your own personal cooker! That's it, I'm jealous." Amy crossed her arms.

"How long has it been since you attended Beacon?" Samantha asked.

"Probably about… six years?"

"Has the school changed that much?" Alan asked.

"Not really, aside from the bigger dormitories and the like." Lily said.

"Right." Damion set his suitcase down. "So in terms of room…"

"I would say there's enough." Samantha said.

"There is more than enough. Unless you brought something massive, there's going to be enough room, trust me. If my team could fit all of our belongings into a smaller room, then you should be able to fit everything in here." Amy aid.

"Alright, we'll leave you to it then." Lily stated, and they both walked out.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel pushed open the door to a dust shop, flanked by Lucy and White Fang men.

"Okay then. Here's the deal. Hand over your dust and we won't need to hurt anybody. Understand?"

The shopkeeper began to nod frantically, and quickly pointed to the dust containers on one side of the store. The White Fang began to grab it.

"Well, that was easier than expected. Did we really need to bring the White Fang along? Could even done this all by ourselves, don't ya think?"

"Orders are orders. Cinder told us to bring them along, so we kind of have to, otherwise we get burned, or worse." Lucy replied.

"I thought humans didn't work with the White Fang…" The shopkeeper muttered.

"What was that?"

"W-Why are you working with the White Fang?"

"For reasons you don't need to know." Daniel said very simply.

"Y-Yes, of course."

The White Fang had finished grabbing the dust, and just as they were leaving, there was a loud gunshot. One of the White Fang had shot the shopkeeper. Daniel stared at them all.

"Who did that?" His voice was dangerously low. No one responded. "I'll ask that again. Who did that?"

"I did."

Daniel turned and stared at the man who did. "Why?"

"He's a human."

"And he was not discriminating against you in any way, and you just killed him."

"Yes."

Before he knew it, he had grabbed the White Fang member by the collar and was holding him up in the air. Some of the White Fang drew their weapons, but Lucy stepped in front of them and glared at them.

"You listen to me very closely. Whenever you come out on heists with me, you don't kill anyone unless necessary. I'm not Adam Taurus, I just don't kill people for the sake of killing people. He was of no threat to you whatsoever. Not every human has discriminated against Faunus, unlike what you White Fang goons seem to think."

"Go to hell. If it wasn't for Cinder, we'd kill you too."

"I'd like to see you try." Daniel stated, before dropping him. A deathly silence hung over the room.

"And that goes for the rest of you too."

Daniel left the store, Lucy in tow. The single White Fang member growled underneath his breath, before they all followed after them.

"Hey!"

Everyone turned around to see a man standing before them. He was kitted out in standard huntsmen gear. He also had brown hair, and was carrying a axe of some description. "Stop right there!"

"And who may you be?"

He pulled out a card. It stated _Eric Blow. _He was very clearly a huntsmen of some sort.

"Well, your second name certainly blows." Lucy said.

"What do you want? Let me guess, I'm here to stop you in the name of justice!" Daniel mocked.

"That's about-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Lucy was already on him in a whirlwind of slashes and slices. He was able to deflect them all, but Daniel came in from his left, punching him in the face. He staggered slightly, before ducking under another swing from Lucy. The White Fang troops opened fire, but he easily dodged them, before uppercutting Lucy in the face, sending her staggering backwards. He switched his axe into a shotgun, and kicked one of the White Fang in the face, before blasting another one in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards. When he hit the floor, he didn't move.

"Brother!" Another one was dispatched with ease.

Daniel pulled out his two pistols and took several shots at him, forcing him to block from behind. Lucy kicked him in the face, right into a swing from Daniel, knocking him backwards. Lucy tried to stab him again, but Eric rolled out of the way. He tried to kick her, but she grabbed his leg, and twisted into a very uncomfortable position, earning a yell of pain. He tried to wriggle free, but Daniel grabbed his other leg, and kicked his weapon away. Lucy let go, and Daniel threw him up into the air, and boosting herself off of Death's Grace, Lucy landed several shots on him mid air, and when he was coming back down, Daniel leapt up and tackled him to the floor, and Lucy came down hard on Eric's face, probably breaking his nose. Lifting him back up, Daniel punched him across the face, sending him flying back.

Eric scrambled back up to his feet, and one of the White Fang snuck up on him, and was promptly taking out with a punch. Lucy then kicked him in the back of the head, bringing him down again. She knelt down next to him, and whispered something into his ear. He didn't get a chance to react however, as Daniel knocked him unconscious with a final punch to the face.

Most of the White Fang has been taken out.

"What did you say to him?"

"Just saying about how that second name still blows."

"You already made that joke. It wasn't funny the first time, and it still isn't."

"Oh dear me, what happened to your sense of humour?"

"It's still there. You just haven't been very successful in trying to bring it out."

"Oh come on! I'm hilarious!"

"In your own fantasy world maybe." Daniel muttered. A small smile came over his face.

"Hey!"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Everything had been laid out in team BDAS' room. There was enough room, to the surprise of absolutely no one, and now they were just kind of sitting awkwardly in the room.

Bethany was still thinking about her leader position. She wondered if she should apologise to them in case she did something stupid, or something a leader would not. But then she immediately dismissed the thought. She had to appear strong and resilient, for the sake of them.

_You may not like it, but you'll have to put on a brave face. They'll be looking to you for support, and you need to give it. _

She hated it, but it was doubtful that Ozpin would switch leaders around.

"So, what about your weapons?" Damion randomly said, trying to start up a conversation.

"What about them?" Samantha asked.

"Do they have names? Mines are called SplinterFire." He held up his double pistol swords.

"Justice and Equality." Alan held up his weapons, and switched them into claw mode.

"Onris." Samantha laid her hand on her whip sword.

"Bethany?"

"W-What? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"Your weapons? Those two swords, what are they called?"

"Oh. Liberty and Honour."

"Cool. Do you carry anything else?"

"I have this gun here." She drew it out of her pockets, and ran her hand over it. It was a tri-revolver. "My dad gave it to me when I was little."

"A little girl waving a gun around? That doesn't sound very safe."

"When I say little, I don't mean little as in toddler. I was seven at the time. He gave it to me because it was around that time I decided I wanted to be a huntress."

"Oh really? Cool."

Another bout of awkward silence.

Bethany looked at Samantha. "Is your semblance the ability to slow down time?"

Samantha sighed. "Sort of. I can slow and speed up time, but I can only do it one person at a time. I would demonstrate, but it's very taxing on my aura."

"Nice." She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"On that note… Thanks for coming after me after I fell down there. I probably would've died if you hadn't done that."

"Your welcome." Once again, not a clue what to say.

"So, do you all want to do something? Classes don't start until-"

There was a knock at the door. When they opened it, Dr Oobleck was standing there.

"Sorry to disturb you, but-" He held up four sheets of paper. "Here are your timetables." He threw them at the four of them, before sprinting off, somehow simultaneously shutting the door in their faces.

"He's certainly going to be a ball of fun if we have him." Damion picked up the four sheets of paper.

He handed them out. "Now let's see who we have…"

_Dr Oobleck: History studies_

_Professor Goodwitch: Dust studies_

_Lily Silva: Aura training, sparring_

_Amy Ivankeo: Grimm studies, sparring_

_Professor Port: Weapon Construction _

"It says sparring for both Lily and Amy. Does that mean we have two different sparring classes, or do they both take us at the same time?" Bethany was a tad confused.

"Good question. I don't know." Samantha stared down at her own timetable.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Was it really the best idea to have both of them take the sparring class?" Glynda asked Ozpin.

Amy groaned. "Here we go again. What is your problem Glynda?"

"One of you taking a class is bad enough, but both of you… Good grief, I pity whatever students are in your class."

"My decision is final Glynda." Ozpin said. "So you best stop complaining, because it's not going to get you anywhere."

"Well, don't blame me when all of our students fail the exams at the end of the year because these two haven't taught them anything! They'll-"

"We'll what Glynda?" Amy questioned. "What do you think we will do instead of teaching them?"

"Some immature activities!"

Lily sighed. "Oh Glynda, in your eyes the things we do are "immature". Childish, foolish. But in our eyes, we call it forming a friendly relationship with your-"

"Their your students, not your friends! You insist on building a friendly relationship with your students? Then you shouldn't-"

"Glynda." Ozpin cut her off. "Every teacher in this school has their own style of teaching. Port has his stories, Oobleck talks extremely fast, you teach through discipline, fear, and respect. Professor Peach has his lectures. But, unlike you, perhaps Amy and Lily do not wish to teach their classes through discipline. Perhaps they wish to teach their classes through establishing positive relationships with their students, because students are far less likely to disobey a teacher that they like and feel generally care about them, over a teacher who terrifies them. Instead of talking to them like a lecture, it feels like a friend talking to another friend, and thus you are far more likely to listen, no?"

Amy couldn't believe it. It was like Ozpin had read her mind, because that was exactly how she planned to teach. Not through fear and punishments, but through friendly interactions and humour.

_Treat students like your friends. _

That was going to be her new motto from now on. All of a sudden, Amy couldn't wait for class to start tomorrow.

Lily was thinking along the same lines. Since her subject was aura training, that was going to involve a lot more practical work over sitting down and writing stuff out. She was hoping that the students would be mature enough to listen, as class control definitely wouldn't be her strong point, due to her more quiet nature.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Roman and Neo had already headed out to the west of Vale for their operation, so Daniel and Lucy were left on their own.

That was until the door opened and Adam came in.

"Not even going to knock? That's a bit rude." Lucy said.

Ignoring her, Adam pointed to Daniel. "You. Out. Now."

"Why, what do you want him for?" Lucy began to stand up, but Daniel waved a hand at her.

"It's fine. I'll be back in a second."

Lucy sat back down, but she was still feeling a bit uneasy. Adam closed the door behind them.

_I wonder what's behind that mask? _

It was a question Daniel wondered every time he saw Adam. What would he see? Silver eyes? A scar?

There were a couple of possibilities.

"What is this I hear about you threatening one of my men?"

_Oh for the love of... _

Why was he not surprised?

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't play the fool with me. He came to me personally and reported the incident."

"He did kill a defenceless shopkeeper."

"And?"

Daniel's hand curled into a fist. "That's all you have to say to me? And? Like it's justifiable?"

"The humans have-"

"I know what the humans have done, and I am all for Faunus equality. But not like this. Not every human deserves to die Adam."

"We are the dominant species!"

"Maybe, but humans deserve all the same rights you do."

Adam jabbed a finger at his chest. "Listen up here. If I receive another report that you have threatened one of my men-"

"You'll do nothing! Because your afraid of Cinder. If you really were this leader that everyone makes you out to be, you would have struck her down the minute she walked in, without the maiden powers."

Adam sheathed his weapon, and pointed it at him.

"What, your going to kill me? For speaking the truth? You know I'm right." Daniel's hand was gripping his own weapon.

Adam simple growled and walked away. Daniel sighed and walked back through the door.

_His cause is a good one_, _he's just going about it in the wrong way…_

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	6. A deck of playing cards

**Chapter 6: A deck of playing cards**

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel was on the phone to Roman.

"_Dan, I think the huntsman are beginning to close in on our operation. You aren't the only one who has ran into them. Me and Neo have been encountering them too." _

"What do you propose we do?"

"_We need a distraction of some sort, something to throw them off our trail…" _

The signal cut out.

"Roman? Roman!"

The call had ended.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

The Lieutenant entered the room, and he set his chainsaw down on a nearby table.

"The huntsmen are starting to close in on us. It's only a matter of time before they're knocking on our front door."

"What should we do?"

"We'll need to draw their attention away from those dust shops. Maybe the White Fang could begin a campaign of violence somewhere else?"

He felt terrible, knowing that loads of people could potentially die, but it didn't seem that they had much choice.

"We could do that." The Lieutenant said.

"Or perhaps we could lie low for a bit. We've already made good progress, we could afford to stop for a bit."

The Lieutenant scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps."

Daniel made to walk past him, but then…

"If your looking for that blue haired friend of yours, I've already sent her out with a few of my men on a heist."

Daniel tensed up a little. "And you didn't tell me because?"

"Didn't seem necessary."

He got the strongest urge to rip his mask off his face, but decided against it.

"If you pull something like this again, I recommend you let me know."

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

Lucy was in some real bother. To no surprise, a huntsman, or in this case, a huntress had turned up.

_If I didn't know any better, I thought I would have unlocked my semblance and it was bad luck. _

She wasn't having any luck at the moment, with the White Fang taken out, and the huntress was slowly getting the advantage. Lucy was holding her back, but it was clear she was outmatched.

The huntress transformed her weapon into a bow… _Why can't I have something like that? Man, what does Daniel have against transforming weapons? _

She took several shots and Lucy almost dodged all of them aside from one, which embedded itself into her leg, causing her to gasp and fall over. She tried to roll over and pull it out of her leg, but soon she found herself to be staring up into the face of the huntress. Standing up, Lucy noticed a identification card sticking out of her back pocket, which read _Ezra. _

Lucy had to focus on getting out of here. And she had the perfect plan. Grinning to herself, she fidgeted in her back pocket and drew out a deck of playing cards…

"Yes, I've got her right here, you can come and pick her up."

Turning back to Lucy, Ezra pointed her weapon at her. "Don't move, criminal."

"I don't plan on it." She grinned, and threw one of the playing cards to the side. A massive explosion sounded, and Ezra was briefly distracted, and Lucy got up on her knees, and punched her right where the sun doesn't shine. Doubling over and gasping, Lucy had brought herself a few precious moments. Crawling back, she hurled another card at Ezra, and this one created a cloud of smoke, and there was a loud coughing fit from Ezra.

Lucy painfully picked herself up and began to run, or limp, as fast as she could. The pain was agonising, but she had endured a lot worse. The arm of her hoodie was ripped, revealing a few scars that ran down her arm. That was proof she had survived a lot worse. Ezra was shouting things after her, but she couldn't hear her, just focused on getting as far away as possible.

After a short while, Lucy ducked into a nearby alleyway. She perched herself on a nearby box, wincing. Leaning down, she examined the wound. It looked pretty bad. Looking down, she realised there was a line of blood from where she had been walking. Cursing inwardly, she took out her scroll. It was starting to really hurt, and she knew there was no chance of her walking back. She phoned Daniel.

"_Lucy? Is everything alright?" _

"Not really. I've been shot in the leg."

She could hear him shouting at the Lieutenant, before he came back on.

"_I'll pick you up. And next time, if the Lieutenant tells you to do something, don't listen to him." _

The call ended. Sighing to herself, Lucy began to wait.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Amy was now sitting in her allocated classroom, waiting for her class to turn up. She checked the list she had been given.

_Team RWBY. _

_Team JNPR. _

_Team BDAS. _

_Team CRDL. _

And a couple other teams she hadn't heard of before. She had to admit, team RWBY and JNPR were pretty impressive in initiation, especially when Ruby had pulled a Nevermore up the side of the cliff, although she still questioned whether the girl was old enough to be attending Beacon or not. And partnering her up with Weiss might not have been the best idea…

She could hear talking outside, and opened the door. She greeted her students with a warm smile.

"Alright guys? Wanna come on in?"

They all entered the classroom and took their seats.

Once everyone had quietened down, Amy began to talk.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Amy Ivankeo. There is no need for formality, you can call me Amy, since calling me Miss just makes me feel old. I will be your Grimm studies teacher for this year, and I also believe me and Lily will be taking you for sparring."

"I don't wish to bore you with a hour long lecture on rule, expectations, bla bla, so let me just say a few things."

"Basically, I don't expect you to be getting top marks. Honestly, so long as you pass, I'm fine with it. And if you don't pass, well, that's on you, not me, unless of course I'm just a bad teacher. This is my first year, and I don't even have any training, so please bare with me. I'll get there eventually."

"Second thing, and I can't believe I have to say this, but don't be a jerk. If you gain satisfaction from bullying people, your just sad. That goes for Faunus discrimination too. It's disgusting and vile."

"This is probably the most important thing. You are training to be professional huntsmen and huntresses. You aren't children anymore, so don't expect any hand-holding or coddling. I can help you, obviously, but ultimately, it's up to you whether you are standing here on graduation day, shaking professor Ozpin's hand, or whether you are sitting at home, disappointed in yourself. You are the most important motivator, not me, not your teammates, you."

"Speaking of teams, here's a little bit of advice. Team leaders especially. Simply put, if your looking at your partner, and your thinking to yourself, I'm not going to get along with them, I don't like them, they annoy me, just take it on the chin. In life, your going to have to work with people you don't like. A certain person comes to mind for me, called Eric Blow, who was just useless. He was annoying, hyperactive and overall, just a complete idiot. He hated me too though, so that was fine."

"I was really happy when he left. Now obviously, I didn't say that. Still don't miss him. But, these are the people you are going to be with for the rest of your time at Beacon, so you should at least try and get along, no? You might find that you have more in common than you think."

"By the way, team leader really doesn't matter. It's just a fancy title, you don't have any more rights or authority then anyone else, so don't let it get to your head."

Bethany stared down at her hands, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"In terms of this class, we'll be studying Grimm. Obviously. But Amy, I hear you ask, why do we have to learn about them? Why can't we just kill them? Well, my dear students, by learning about them, you can learn their weaknesses and thus, kill them quicker! Simple, right? At least it should be for a bunch of talented individuals such as yourselves."

"To start off our first class, I thought we would talk about all these new types of Grimm that have been popping up."

Cardin Winchester raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"There have been new types of Grimm popping up?"

Amy was dumbfounded. "Eh, yes? Have you read or watched the news lately? Or are you too busy stumbling around in forests, getting lost?"

There was a low oh sound in the class. The fact that Cardin's team had got lost had spread very quickly.

He went red faced with embarrassment, and sat back down.

"Anyway, there have been quite a few new types. So many in fact, that most of them haven't even been given names. I'll draw a few up on the board here, because apparently this school can't afford projectors." She picked up a marker, and began to draw.

"Hear that Beth? Can't boss us around, don't let it get to your head." Damion tapped the side of his own head.

What Amy had said had actually annoyed Bethany slightly.

_If it really didn't matter, it wouldn't be a thing._ She thought to herself. She clenched and unclenched her fists.

Amy had drawn a picture of a Grimm lion and a snake on the board, but the snake wasn't big enough to be a King Taijitu. They carried the classic black and white colour of a Grimm, but the snake was reared up, and appeared to be spitting something out of it's mouth.

"These two are ones which I have fought myself, and let me tell you, compared to your average Beowolf or Ursa, they are a lot stronger and faster. Another friend of mine, her name is Ezra, was unlucky enough to be spat on by the Grimm snake, and it was pretty bad. The wound turned purple, and she was in constant agony. Probably some kind of poison."

"This lion over here, it had a spiked tail which hit hard, I know that first-hand. It can also breathe black fire. There appears to be some kind of armour plating on it's back, meaning you would think the soft spot is the underbelly, but it's actually the tail. Cut that off, and it'll be dead. Pretty simple."

Samantha stuck her hand up.

"You said you had fought these things before. When?"

"Couple of months back, in Mistral. They were terrorising a local village, and me, Lily and Ezra took care of them."

"Other types of Grimm that have been reported include monkeys, piranhas, sharks, and we've even received reports of something called a Geist, which seems to have a habit of possessing things."

"Could it possess a human?" Damion asked.

"That's… unconfirmed. Do you have Professor Port for anything?"

"Yes, why?"

"He likes to keep Grimm in cages, you could check to see if he has a Geist, and volunteer-"

"No thank you!"

"I thought you might say that."

Amy turned back to the board. "So, anyway…"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel was fuming. The Lieutenant had sent Lucy out, without telling him, and now she was injured!

He had every faith in her ability to take care of herself, but the Lieutenant would have know that the possibility of a huntsman turning up was likely, and he had done it anyway! Roman had called the White Fang idiots many times, and Daniel was beginning to see credibility in that statement. They couldn't organise themselves, they had no real plan apart from "kill humans".

_I wouldn't call them animals, but they aren't the smartest Faunus about…_

Getting into a car, he turned on his scroll, and activated the tracking. It was a useful feature, allowing you to track contacts that you had given authorisation too, through their own scrolls. He realised she wasn't actually that far away, meaning she must be hurt pretty badly if she hadn't tried to walk back.

He began to drive down the road, routinely checking his scroll to make sure he was going the right way.

Looking out the window, he noticed several dust shops with police tape outside of them.

_We really have cleaned house haven't we? _

At this rate, they'd have all the dust in Vale in no time. Then it was just the matter of figuring out what to do with all…

_Wow, shock, horror. Cinder hasn't told us what she expects us to do with it. _

Eventually, he pulled up beside the alleyway. He saw the trickle of blood before he saw her, lying next to a box, trying to stem the flow of blood. Her grumpy expression lit up with a smile when she saw him.

"Were your efforts to tell the Lieutenant off in vein?"

Daniel ignored the bad joke, and knelt down next to her. "Can you walk, or do you want me to-"

"I'd best walk, as I'd rather admit I'm gay and kiss Cinder then allow you to carry me."

Considering the amount of times he had carried her, that was ironic.

Leaning on him for support, the two of them began to make their way over to the crowd. A quick look around told Daniel there was no one around, and he helped her get into the car. He handed her a pack of tissues sitting in the front. "That should help stop the bleeding." She grabbed them, and pressed down hard.

"Ah, that hurts! A lot!" She winced. "Please tell me you have some form of a first aid kit."

"Should do."

He began to drive back. He hadn't been able to get a good view of the wound, but when she lifted the tissue away, he could see that the cut was pretty big, and it was still bleeding. Looking at her, he noticed that her leg wasn't the only thing that was injured. The arms of her hoodie were all ripped, and her lip was cut.

"Geez, Lucy, who did you fight? And why did your aura not protect you?"

"Whole lot tougher than she looked. Some girl called Ezra."

Daniel's blood ran cold. He had heard recently that Ezra was travelling about with Amy and Lily. If she was here, did that mean Amy and Lily were in Vale too?

No, he didn't have time to think about that.

Pulling up outside the warehouse, Daniel helped Lucy in. He brought her into a room, and helped her down. "Wait there, I'll find that first aid kit."

He started to search for it. Eventually, he found it, underneath the sink.

_How did it get there? _

It was probably moved to make more room for Neo's ice cream.

He was walking back when Mercury stopped him. "Cinder wants to-"

"Out of the way. Cinder can wait." He shoved past him.

"Hey, hold on. She's the boss, you know that? You can't just-"

"I can, and I just did."

He closed the door. Mercury sighed. "When will he learn?"

Daniel set the kit down, and pulled out a disinfectant. He handed it to her. "Rub that in."

"I heard you talking to Mercury. What was it about?"

"Cinder wants to see me."

Her eyes widened. "You know, you can leave and I can do it myself-"

"No. Right now, you are the most important thing."

He smiled at her. "Cinder can wait."

After she had finished, he dressed the wound and began to wrap a bandage around it. Luckily, most of the bleeding had stopped. "How does that feel?"

"A bit better. Thanks."

He surveyed her. She still had several cuts over her arms and face. "I asked you this before, but why did your aura not protect you?"

"I dunno. Maybe she has a semblance that can like, bypass it or something?"

Daniel was about to say that wasn't possible, but it very well could be that. Now, that was cheap.

"How did you get away?"

"Playing cards."

_Ah yes, my explosive playing cards. _

Unpredictable and deadly.

"You can go to Cinder now. I can clean up the rest myself."

"You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Go and see what she wants."

She waved a hand at him, and Daniel walked out of the room. Mercury was still there, leaning against the wall. "She's in there."

Daniel pushed open the door, and prepared himself for one hell of a telling off.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Tsk Tsk. Naughty Daniel. How dare you be a good friend! **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day.**


	7. Nerves are no fun

**Chapter 7: Nerves are no fun**

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Being a teacher had sounded great at the time. But now Lily was having second thoughts. Wringing her hands together, she walked around the sparring hall.

Aura training had been selected to take place in the sparring hall. She was still wondering why Ozpin hadn't given her and Amy at least a couple of weeks notice, so they could have been taken through some sort of training, just to get the basics down. She realised she didn't have a clue what she was going to say.

She couldn't just explain to them what aura was, since they obviously already knew that.

Should she just put them to work, practicing? Or should she talk a bit first? This was a problem.

She heard them gathering outside the door and took a deep breath.

_You are Lily Silva, the protector of the people, a world renowned huntress! You should be able to explain to a bunch of teenagers how to use their aura. _

It shouldn't be too hard. If Amy could do it, there should be no problem, right? It was simple, it was easy, it should be easy!

She suddenly realised she hadn't moved to open the door. A tall man in armour with burnt orange hair was staring through the window at her, pointing at her and talking to his team.

Recomposing herself, she opened the door, and allowed the students to come pouring in. The same guy, who Lily then realised as the leader of Team CRDL shoved a blonde boy out of the way and started laughing.

_Don't just stand there, do something! _

But for some reason, her legs carried her back to the front of the hall, and she stood in front of them all, and put her hands behind her back.

_No, you look really strict then! Just stand like a normal person! _

Everyone was now looking at her, anticipating her first words.

_Say something, anything! _

"Hello there everyone , my name is Lily Silva and for this year, I'll be your aura training teacher."

A bout of awkward silence.

_Say something else! _

"So, I am aware that you all probably know what aura is, and I am sure you have all unlocked yours. Anyone who hasn't, well, you should probably do that."

_Ask a question now, or something. _

"Anyway, so we know the two main uses of aura. Defense and attack. Can anyone, um, name me any other uses?"

Weiss put up her hand almost immediately.

"Yes Miss Schnee?"

"It allows for minor healing, and allows people to detect enemies, even if they can't see them."

"Very good. It can also…"

She literally had a brain freeze. _What was I going to say again? _

She could feel lots of pairs of eyes, on her, anticipating for her to follow through with her statement.

Cardin suddenly said, "Uh oh guys, I think she's forgotten. Imagine that, a professional huntress and she can't even remember what you use aura for. That's embarrassing." A couple of people laughed.

_For the love of everything, what was it again?! _

"Is it climate protection?" Samantha said, leaning forward in her chair a bit.

Lily snapped her fingers. "Thank you. Sorry, had a bit of brain freeze there. So, um, climate protection. Quite basic, it protects you from the, um, climate!"

_Why would you say that? _

Cardin clapped his hands. "Woah, never knew that. Great job."

Lily glared at him. _If only I had a piece of chalk… _

It'd be going straight in his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Turning away from him, she desperately tried to think of something to say.

"You can harness aura into different parts of your body to make them stronger, so you can, um, make yourself stronger, and if you harness it through your legs, you can, um, run faster?"

_That's not right! _

"I'm sorry Miss, but I don't quite believe-"

"Would you shut up?!" She hissed at Cardin. "If your so smart, why don't you come down here and teach the class?"

He raised his hands. "I'm just saying, I don't think you can do that."

"I'm aware!"

A confused expression came over his face. "Why then did you tell us that?"

She decided to ignore that question, and motioned to the ground in front of her. Maybe if she did practical work, actual training, maybe she wouldn't have to talk as much…

"Hello, teacher? Answer my question please!"

"Shut up Cardin." Damion said to him. "Just shut up." He looked at her, and she gave him a grateful smile.

"What did you say to me?"

Lily checked the clock on the back of the wall. They were only ten minutes in…

_Maybe I'll be lucky, and their teammates will sort it out. _

Samantha and Bethany were both trying to get Damion to sit down, and Cardin was cracking his knuckles.

Then, she had a idea.

"Since you two want to have a go at each other, why don't you both demonstrate to us the basics of aura?"

Cardin looked at her quizzically, and Damion was already walking down the steps.

She motioned to Cardin to come down.

"Oh, this is going to be fun." Cardin was grinning from ear to ear.

_Cocky son of a- _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel took a seat in front of Cinder. "You wanted to see me?"

"I had expected to see you a few minutes ago."

"Well, I'm late. How every shall we resolve this terrible situation? Are you going to give me a detention, and I have to sit and write out, I must not be late for meetings, I must not be late-"

"How very amusing. I would expect that when I call you, you come to me immediately."

"Call me? What am I, a dog? Woof woof, bark bark. My friend was injured, and I was helping her out. Do you have a problem with that?"

"You and that blue haired girl seem, awfully close."

"And that "blue haired girl" has a name. Lucy."

"How did you two meet each other?"

Oh no. He was not telling her that.

"None of your business."

She leaned over the table. "Excuse me?"

"Did you not hear me? I said, none of your business." He put a lot of emphasis on each word.

She leaned back in the chair. Daniel had to admit, she was pretty. He could certainly understand how she had managed to convince Mercury to come along. If she wasn't as arrogant as she was, Daniel may have even considered setting up a potential romantic relationship.

But at this point, he'd honestly rather marry a Grimm than her.

"You have quite the attitude, don't you? I was simply curious."

"Well, it's a very long and tragic story, which I'm sure she would rather I didn't tell you."

"Did it have something to do with a certain criminal called Magnus?"

Oh hell no, this was not happening. He was not having this conversation. But how did she know that?

"It might have of done. But that's all I'm saying."

Cinder stared at him, and he stared right back. He couldn't afford to show any signs of weakness, not in front of her. Smiling, she put a hand on his cheek.

"Don't touch-"

"You know, we haven't gotten many chances to talk, have we?"

_Maybe if you were somewhat nice, I'd want to talk you to more. _

But underneath that seducing smile, those good looks, there lay a devil. A devil who would not stop to get what she wanted. A devil who killed people when she didn't need them. A selfish, arrogant, manipulative devil. She drew her hand away from his face, but they didn't break eye contact.

"Perhaps we should get to know each other better."

If Daniel didn't know any better, he would have stood up and left. Said nothing and just left. It would be easier to just sit here. To let her know that she wasn't the one in control. That he wasn't afraid of her, like Roman was.

When he got the opportunity, he would put her down like a rabid animal.

Because she didn't deserve a glamorous death, or to go out in a burst of glory. No, she deserved to be thrown in a hole and left to die there.

Unfortunately, Daniel didn't have any big holes at this particular moment in time, and even if he did, she would just burn her way out.

"That will be all for now. You may leave." He stood up and left without a single word. He had to admit, he was quite surprised that Emerald hadn't ran crying to her after what he and Lucy had said.

Speaking of Lucy, she was currently holed up in a room, still recovering from the arrow shot to the leg. He went in to her.

"Oh Danny, please tell me, will I ever walk again?"

"Not if you call me "Danny" again." He wasn't in the mood for this.

A brief hurt look flashed across her face, before being replaced with confusion. "But you've never minded me-"

"Sorry, had a meeting with Cinder." Even being near the women put him in a bad mood.

"Oh right. Did she tell you off for helping me out?"

"She mentioned it, but didn't tell me off as such."

Daniel knew she wasn't going to want to hear this next bit, but he felt as if he was obliged to tell her.

"She asked how we met."

"You didn't tell her?" Lucy sat up, wincing a bit.

"Careful there."

"But you didn't tell her?"

"Of course I didn't!"

"Right, good." She lay back down. "That's… okay."

Now, this bit she definitely didn't want to hear.

"She asked if it had something to do with Magnus." Lucy froze up completely, and she stared at him.

"No Daniel."

"Lucy-"

"I said, no! I don't want to talk about him! You know I don't want to!"

"But don't you think it's a bit strange that she would know-"

"Of course she would know who he is! He was the biggest criminal about, until-" She shut her mouth, knowing that he already knew.

"But how does she know we were associated-"

"Did you not hear me the first time idiot?! I don't want to talk about him! What do I have to do, write it out on a piece of paper?"

Daniel knew this conversation was going nowhere. He was going to have to give her some time to cool off. She had called him a idiot, but luckily he knew that she didn't mean that.

"Right, we'll talk about it later then."

He stood up and left.

Lucy sighed softly to herself. The subject of Magnus was a tricky one for her. She knew that she ought to talk to him about it, how Cinder knew that piece of information. But…

She didn't want to talk to him about Magnus, because it brought up memories. Painful memories she had tried to shove back down to where they came from. But it didn't matter how hard she tried. It didn't matter how happy she was with Daniel.

Because while physical scars could fade away, mental ones would always stay.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Well, that was certainly… eventful." Samantha said as they walked out of aura training. Bethany was walking behind them with her hands stuffed deep in her pockets, and Alan had pulled the old disappearing act to go and talk to Blake again.

_He did that at the end of initiation too… _Bethany thought to herself.

"What did you say?" Damion asked her.

She blinked. "Wh-what? Did I say something?"

"Yeah. It sounded like you said something about initiation?"

"Sorry, it was nothing. Just thinking out loud."

"Right." Damion had a small bruise on the side of his cheek where Cardin had hit him harder than he was anticipating, as they were demonstrating the defensive uses of aura.

"To be honest" Samantha was saying. "Most of that stuff she was talking about we already knew?"

"She seemed very, I dunno, nervous?" Damion replied.

"Maybe she was." Bethany said. "That would be reasonable to expect. She obviously hasn't done this kind of thing before."

"Well, neither has Amy, and look at her!"

"And different people have different attitudes to things, Damion." She snapped at him. Damion raised his hands.

"Woah, right, I'm just saying."

It was the end of classes, so they were on their way back to the dormitory.

Bethany couldn't get what Amy had said about leaders off her mind.

_It really doesn't matter… _

Well, why did the school treat it like it mattered? Or was that just Amy's way of looking at it?

She hadn't had to show any real leadership so far, but the growing unease in her stomach left her thinking she would have to soon.

"Where is Alan? Is he off talking to your girl out of team RWBY again? What was her name, Blake?" Damion said randomly.

"I believe so, maybe we should go find him." Samantha suggested.

"Maybe we shouldn't. If he wants to hang out more with another team then his own team, let him do that." Bethany practically shoved the door open and stomped her way in.

Damion and Samantha shared a glance. "You think she's okay?" Damion queried.

"Maybe it's just because it's the first day. Give her some time and maybe she'll be fine."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**A few hours later: **

Alan was on his way back to the dormitory now. He had been talking with Blake for so long, time had flown extremely quickly. He hadn't even realised that it was almost time for bed.

In terms of sleep, the school basically allowed you to go to sleep whenever you wanted, and if you stayed up all night and were too tired to go to class, well, that was your own fault then, and Alan thought that was fair enough.

He and Blake had made small talk about lots of different things, books, classes, but the main thing they had been talking about was Faunus discrimination. Alan was extremely passionate about Faunus, he adored them, and despised the way they were treated.

"Cardin said what?!" The familiar voice of Amy Ivankeo greeted his ears. He looked behind him, and she was walking with Lily.

"He basically clapped his hands and mocked me, saying great job."

"If he does that again, tell me, and I'll mock him so bad he'll leave Beacon and never return."

Alan sighed inwardly. He didn't understand why everyone thought Amy was so great. Sure, she was sarky and funny, but that annoyed him personally. She was too over the top.

Lily just seemed far too nervous for his liking, she was like the exact opposite of Amy. He seriously wondered whether the two of them had undergone any sort of training.

_Ozpin probably let both of them in because they're both good looking. _

Was that a bit unfair to assume? Maybe. They were world class huntresses, and he knew either of the two of them could destroy him in a fight.

But all the males must surely adore Amy, and from the way Damion was looking at her, he suspected he might be one of them. Any goth in the school would practically worship Lily.

"Let me at him and I'll, oh, hi Alan."

He didn't return Amy's greeting, and soon found himself standing outside their dormitory. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"Then, I was all like-" Damion was standing in the middle, making gestures with his hands and arms, until he noticed Alan walk in. "And where have you been all day?"

"I was talking to Blake."

"Wonderful, and now that your back-" He grabbed his arm and pulled him in, closing the door. "It's time for some team bonding!"

"Woohoo." Samantha raised her arms in the air. "So excited."

"Now, the first thing we're going to do is…" Damion tried to think of something. "Team building exercises!"

A look of horror appeared on Samantha's face. "Oh no!" She said, looking at her non existent watch. "Is that the time? I'd best be going to sleep now! Busy day tomorrow!"

Bethany and Alan were both quick to agree, somehow getting undressed into pyjamas and slipping into bed, all in the span of ten seconds. The light went out and the room was bathed in darkness.

"But it's only ten o'clock!" Damion protested. "Right, okay then. Good night everyone!" He got into his own bed.

_How bad could my exercises really be? _He wondered to himself.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Yeah, couldn't be that bad could they?**

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	8. Echoes of the past

**Chapter 8: Echoes of the past **

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_What if Amy and Lily are in Vale? _

Could it be possible? After hearing that Ezra was around, could that really be the truth?

The thoughts that raced through Daniel's head were plentiful.

_Why would they be here? _

_Are they after me? _

If only he could answer those two questions. He still cared about them, of course he did. But the question was, did they care about him? After leaving them behind at Beacon, after making very little contact with them, it seemed highly unlikely.

_Why does this have to happen to me? _

Why couldn't they just come with him? Why did they stay at Beacon? Why did they trust Ozpin?

His mind was drawn back to his first talk with Amy.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_Amy was extremely nervous. They were about to enter the exam. The exam that would determine whether she got into Beacon or not. _

"_Woah, want to calm down there?" She hadn't even noticed that for the past minute, she had nearly stepped on a guy's foot about ten times. _

"_So-sorry." _

"_Your alright. Nerves getting to you?" She looked at the man with the dark hair. _

"_Just a bit." _

"_Well, so long as you've studied, you'll be fine." _

_That was a problem. She had barely studied. Spending far too much time doing other pointless things rather than study! What kind of idiot was she? _

"_What's your name?" _

"_Amy Ivankeo." _

"_Well Amy, I'm Daniel. And this right behind me…" He turned to the girl standing by his side. "Is my sister Lily." _

"_Hi." _

_Lily didn't say anything, and instead spent her time staring at the wall. _

_Daniel mouthed "socially awkward" at Amy, and she nodded her understanding. _

"_Are you feeling confident?" Amy asked him. _

"_I guess so. Honestly, I'm not that bothered. If I get in, great. If I don't, big deal." _

_**How can he be so calm? **__She wondered to herself. _

_Suddenly, a tall man with glasses and green hair popped his head out. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning the exam now. Please take your seats." _

"_Good luck." Daniel said before they all walked in. _

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"Daniel." The sounds of his name snapped him out of it.

He turned around to see Lucy, leaning against the door frame, a pained expression on her face.

"What are you doing? You should be-"

"I know, I know." She limped her way over to him. "Look, I'm sorry for my outburst. I shouldn't have called you a idiot. But you know-"

"I know Lucy. I know how you feel about Magnus."

Even the mention of his name made her wince a bit.

"That was my fault. I shouldn't have mentioned what Cinder said."

"No, no, you should have. Thanks."

"So, we good now?"

"Yeah, we're fine. We're cool." She pulled up a chair and sat down, gently easing her leg onto the ground.

"Your hair is starting to go blonde again." He pointed towards her fringe, where a small bit of blonde could be seen amongst all the blue hair dye.

"Oh, is it? Thanks." He knew that she hated her blonde hair. It reminded her of Magnus, and the least said about him, the better.

But he knew that she was still suffering. She wouldn't say, but he knew that if he left, or died, Lucy would fall into a deep dark void she would never escape from. He was practically the only thing she had left. Especially since…

"So, I was looking through some news articles-"

"Since when did you read the news?"

"Since always. I would probably call you a moron at that point, but I really think you should see this." She handed over her scroll to him.

He read the frontline. _Two new teachers join Beacon Academy this year. _

"So? New teachers. Big deal."

"Read on."

_Beacon Academy is delighted to welcome two new members of staff to their ranks this year. Their names are… _

Daniel read it. He then read it again to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He then read it a third time, then a fourth, then a fifth. But it was there, right in front of him.

_Amy Ivankeo and Lily Silva. _

The two names that had damned him for a long time. The two people he thought he would never see again.

He stared at Lucy. "If this is some kind of a joke…"

"It's not. I promise you." The amount of sincerity in her voice told him she wasn't lying.

He slowly handed her scroll back to her. "Dan? You okay?"

"You should probably head back to bed. I'm going out."

"Where are you going?"

"To a place I haven't been to in a very long time."

He walked out, and passed Mercury along the way. He tapped him on the shoulder. "If Lucy needs anything for that leg of hers, would you do me a favour and bring it to her?"

"Does that translate to, bring it to her or I'll break your face?"

"Pretty much."

"Where are you going?"

He said nothing more and walked out.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Maybe this wasn't the best idea Amy…" Lily sat with her head down, staring into the mug of coffee she was given.

"Lily, it's only been one day. Just try and compose yourself. Things could get better." She sat with a mug of hot chocolate in her own hands.

"I don't know…"

"Would you rather go back on missions with bad scroll service, bad food, and uncomfortable sleeping spots?"

"No! It's not that."

She sighed and set her coffee to the side. She lowered her head into her hands. Amy put her arm around her. "It's just… Cardin-"

"Cardin is a sad bully, and you aren't going to let him bring you down. If he's that cocky, we'll ask him to fight you in sparring class, see how much he likes it when he's flat on his ass."

Lily smiled a bit. "We are the keys to their future essentially. I don't want to screw this up."

"And you aren't going to. Just need to find your rhythm first."

"I guess…"

She drew a picture out of her pocket. It was of her and Daniel, a day before they were due to go on their last mission at Beacon, their graduation mission.

A day before it had all went wrong…

"I still think about him."

Amy patted her back softly. "Me too."

"Do you think… do you think if he could see me now, he would be proud?"

Amy wanted to say yes, but something held her back. Would he be? This wasn't the life he wanted for her. He never wanted Lily to be a huntress, nor did he want to be one himself.

But somewhere deep inside of her… She thought he would be.

"I think he would be."

"I miss him so much." Amy didn't need to look to tell she was on the verge of crying. "Why did he leave us?"

"You know he had his reasons."

Lily put the picture away. "All I want, is to see him again. I know he's out there somewhere. He must think about us sometimes."

Did he though? Did he care? Or was he too busy having a laugh with Lucy,Roman and Neo?

Amy sighed. "Come on. Let's go for a walk outside. The students are asleep, it'll be nice and peaceful."

Lily nodded and the two of them stood up, and began to head outside.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel stood outside the gates of Beacon Academy. It was still as outstanding as he remembered it. The tower looked like it touched the sky. The architecture still as beautiful as every. This was the place he had spent four years of his life.

Four years of bonding, trust, and tragedy.

_Right, you've seen it, let's go. _

But then he found himself walking forward, actually into the school.

_No you fool! Stop! You'll get caught! This is the place your supposed to be destroying, what are you doing? _

It was as if he was no longer in control of his body, and soon he found himself standing in the middle of it, taking it all in. It was amazing the amount of time and effort that had been put in to it.

It was very quiet too, but the silence was welcoming. The students and the staff were most likely asleep, giving him a free roam of it all.

He walked past the cafeteria, remembering all the mad food fights that had gone on in there. He smiled at the memory.

_Leave fool! Leave now! _

But something compelled him to keep walking about.

So relaxing, so peaceful…

That was until the peace was disturbed by two sets of voices.

"Lily, don't be worrying about it. I'm sure…"

He froze on the spot. He recognised that voice.

"I don't know, Amy, do you really think…"

_Oh no oh no oh no. _

What was he doing? What was he thinking? Why was he here? He had to leave, now! But for some reason, he couldn't move, he was paralysed.

_Move, move, move! _

He managed to unglue his feet from the ground and jumped to the side, ducking for cover behind the big statue.

He listened intently to their conversation.

"Do you think he would…"

Oh lord, they were talking about him. This was the worst thing every!

"I wonder if he hates us." Amy said.

That would be a big no. In fact, they probably hated him.

"Do you hate him?" Lily asked all of a sudden.

Daniel peeked our behind the statue. Amy's expression had turned to one of pure horror. "No! Why would I? What ever made you think that?"

"Nothing. I'm just checking."

"I want to see him again just as much as you do."

"What would you do?"

"I'd hug him and tell him just how much I care about him, how much I missed him…" Oh no, was Amy about to cry? The tone of her voice suggested that.

"I feel like at this point, the possibility of seeing him again is very slim… He never responded to any of our messages." No, not Lily too!

Daniel sank down to the ground. _What kind of terrible person am I? _For the last few years, he had created the facade that they had hated him. It was a excuse not to get in touch! And yet here they were…

How many times had this conversation happened? How many times had they held each other, weeping over him? How many hours of each day did they spend, thinking about him, holding on to a small window of hope that he might come back?

He was never going to forgive himself after this. He had made them cry, he had been the reason for their misery.

He was a terrible person. He stood up and took a deep breath.

_Time to reveal myself. _

He wasn't going to sit here and listen to them cry. Not anymore. He was going to do something.

But what would he say? He still hadn't figured that out when he stepped out from behind the statue.

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

Amy noticed a dark shape step out from behind the statue, and immediately tried to calm herself down and righted herself.

"Hey, don't you think it's a bit late to be-" She assumed it was a student up. But then the mysterious figure stepped out of the shadow.

If it was possible for your heart to just give up and stop beating, this was the very moment right here.

"Da-Daniel?"

Lily gasped loudly.

He didn't say anything, and just stood there. Amy took a step back. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. But she wasn't. Daniel was here, very much in flesh and blood, right in front of them.

She reached out towards him, only for him to flinch and step back.

"Wh-What are you doing here? I can't…"

He lowered his head towards the ground. "I'm sorry."

"What?" But he had already took off, running past them towards the gates. "Hey, wait, come back!"

He charged through the gates.

"Lily, we have to go after him! Come on!"

_We can't let him leave us again._

The two of them set off after him.

Little did they know, that Professor Ozpin had saw the whole thing from his window, overlooking the whole school.

Daniel ran right into the city and they were both hot on his tail. He began to jump across roofs of houses.

"Daniel! Slow down, please!" He didn't even react like he heard them. Jumping onto the road, he shot down it like a bullet.

_He certainly hasn't let himself go. _

Lily tried to cut him off, but he was too quick for her, leaping over her head and turning down a corner.

Amy jumped onto one of the roofs, and got a birds eye view of where he was going.

"Lily, he's going down that avenue. Run round that corner, we can get him there!"

Lily took off in the opposite direction, as Daniel turned round another corner.

Amy jumped down, and landed right in front of him. He skidded to a halt, and turned in the other direction, only to find Lily there, blocking him off.

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

They had managed to cut him off.

_Why did I run? _

He ran because he realised he didn't want to face them, to face the two people who had cherished him so much.

But now they were here, and Daniel had no choice but to confront them.

"Daniel…" They were both walking towards him slowly, like he was a rabid animal about to pounce.

He eyed the both of them up. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? I'm sorry didn't really cut it in this particular situation.

"Say something please." Lily had her arms outstretched. She got closer to him, and Daniel wasn't quick enough to jump back before she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him strongly. "I've missed you so much." He didn't return the hug, he was already in shock over what had happened.

"Daniel?" Amy was standing behind him. "Why are you not…talking?"

"Why won't you talk to us?" Daniel was suddenly overwhelmed with a sudden rage that he didn't know was there.

"What do you expect me to say?!" He shoved Lily away with a sudden ferocity, causing her to fall over. "I'm sorry?! That doesn't really cut it now, does it?" Lily looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"Why are you…"

"Why am I what? A criminal?! I'll tell you why! I didn't have a choice!"

"Dan?" Lily stood back up.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

She backed away, and Daniel hadn't realised that he was shouting, until Lily put her face in her hands and started crying.

At seeing her cry, he was immediately filled with a deep regret.

"Wait, no, I didn't mean to…"

Amy rushed to Lily's side, and stared at Daniel. "Why are you so angry?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "Did we do anything wrong?"

"No, Amy. I'm not angry at you or Lily." He turned and walked down the road, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm angry at myself." He disappeared into the darkness.

Amy made to go after him, before looking at Lily, sobbing in the middle of the road. She knelt down beside her and hugged her tightly.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Well, it's getting real now. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	9. Blown out of the water

**Chapter 9: Blown out of the water**

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel pushed open the door and stepped inside. Lucy was waiting for him.

"Where have you been? It's nearly…" She read the expression on his face like a book. "You saw them didn't you?"

"Not right now Lucy. Please." The tone in his voice stopped her from pushing any further.

He pushed open the door to a room, and threw himself down on the bed, not necessarily caring who's it was.

_I made her cry… _

He hadn't made his sister cry since, well, he couldn't even remember. He felt terrible about it.

_If they didn't hate me before, they must surely now…_

But the expressions on their faces said otherwise. They did care. And he had been blind to that fact for so long now. He had to talk to them. He just had to. Yet, he blew his chance.

A soft knock on the door could be heard.

"Daniel?" Lucy opened it, and walked in. "I know you said not right now, but…" She sat down on the bed next to him. "Did you see them?"

"Yes Lucy. Yes I did."

"And? Do they hate you?"

"No, they don't! And I have been blind to that! I made them cry, I was the reason they were upset!"

"You couldn't have known." She said softly.

"I should have done something! I could have gotten in contact with them! I… I still have their scroll numbers for crying out loud!"

"Communication is a two way street you know. They didn't try and get in contact with-"

"But they did! And they gave up because they thought I was never going to respond!"

He lowered his face into his hands. "I'm a terrible person. I'm a terrible friend, I'm a terrible brother-"

Lucy slapped him across the face. "Ow! What was that-"

"Is that really how you view yourself? That just because two people cried because you left, that puts you in the wrong?! Newsflash, people leave all the time! And it's not like you didn't have your reasons!"

"I know, but-"

"But nothing! Tell me, if it was only Amy or only Lily you were leaving behind, would you have left Beacon?"

He considered that question. "No, no I wouldn't."

"Exactly. At the end of the day, you knew that they would be sad. That tears would be shed. But you also knew that they had each other. So you left, safe in the knowledge that they would be okay."

Daniel looked at her. He hadn't heard her be this sincere in a long time. "Who are you and what have you done with Lucy Locke?"

She chuckled a bit, before shuffling up closer to him.

"You are not a bad person Dan. If you were," She motioned to herself. "Safe to say, I wouldn't be here right now."

Daniel sighed.

"Do you want them back in your life?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well, running away from them isn't the best first move."

"What did you expect? I hadn't seen them in years! What, was I supposed to say "Hello", shake their hands and go and watch a movie or something?"

"Plus a whole lot more crying and "I missed you."

"I made Lily cry."

"What?"

"I pushed her away and she started to cry. Nothing that you say will make me not feel bad about that."

"Siblings have fights all the time. Me and Joshua used to have fights all the time, albeit, a lot more violent than just a simple shove."

Daniel stared at her. She hadn't mentioned her younger brother in ages.

"But, I'm a criminal. A criminal and huntresses interacting? That's a big no in many peoples book."

"And rushing in to save someone who's done all they could to push you away is also a big no in many people's book."

Daniel knew she was referencing when he saved her life.

"Just talk to them Danny. You still have their scroll numbers, just ring them up for a chat. That's all you really have to do. And if you do decide to meet up with them, I'll be happy to just stay here."

"I think you and Amy would be great friends." He said.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Well, regardless of what you decide to do, just remember that I'll always be here. Your always welcome to cry on my shoulder."

She smiled at him. Daniel looked out the window, and then heard a knock on the door.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Is it just me... or does Amy seem a little distracted?" They were in sparring class, but Lily wasn't there and Amy had just said "she's not here."

"What do you reckon is up with Lily?" Damion asked. There was currently a match going on between Bethany and Russel. It was already reaching it's conclusion when Bethany ducked underneath Russell's slash and struck him in the face, a hard blow that knocked his aura into red and ended the match.

Walking back to her teammates, Bethany sat back in her seat without another word.

"I'm also worried about her." Samantha nodded to Bethany. "She's a whole lot more quiet than expected."

Damion shrugged. Cardin raised his hand.

"What do you want?" Amy's tone was one of annoyance.

"You haven't told us. Where may our dear emo Lily be?"

Amy's hand curled into a fist. "That's none of your business."

"But shouldn't us students have the right to know where our teachers are?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Do you think that treating people the way you do is going to get you anywhere in life?"

"You don't know how I treat people. I didn't step out of line in your class a few days ago!"

"But I know how you treated her in that class!"

"Aw, did she run to you crying-"

"Cardin, pick your ass up, and come down here right now."

"What? Why?"

"Your having a match."

"Against who?"

Despite her clear frustration, the smallest smile appeared on Amy's face. "Me."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Excuse me, do you know where Ezra would be?" Lily asked at the reception. She was in the nearest police station, and the man behind the desk eyed her up.

"Why do you want to see her?"

"It's…. huntress business."

"Well, Miss Silva, you are in luck, because she is actually present at this station. Just go down that corridor there…" He gave her instructions to the room.

"Thanks." She began to walk down.

She found Ezra sitting at a desk, her orange hair hanging down over her face.

"Ezra!"

She looked up. "Oh, hi Lily!" Standing up, she gave her a quick embrace before stepping back.

"I heard about you and Amy getting teacher positions at Beacon! Great job!"

"Thanks. Look Ezra, I'd love to have a chat, but I need to ask you-"

"Here you are Ezra." The best man himself, Eric Blows, literally strode out like a lad, setting down a mug of tea in front of Ezra.

"Thank you Eric."

"And- Oh hello, Lily."

"Hi Eric. Anyway, I need to ask you both something."

"Ask away."

"Have either of you two run into Daniel?"

They both tensed up. "Yes." Eric said. "I ran into him and his girlfriend a couple weeks back."

_Wait, Lucy's his girlfriend? _

That was a whole new thing entirely.

"He got beat up." Erza said. "Me on the other hand, I was able to beat up his girlfriend, but she got away."

"Right. Was it just them, or were they with anyone?"

"They were with the White Fang."

Lily's heart skipped a beat. _The White Fang? _Didn't they hate humans?

"But don't the White Fang-"

"Hate humans? That's what we thought." Eric threw his hands out. "But apparently not anymore."

"So why do you think he's working with them?"

"Well" Ezra said. "The White Fang obviously would have to something to gain. Money perhaps?"

"The White Fang would never accept money from humans."

"Wait!" Eric said. "Maybe there's someone higher up who is forcing them to work with Daniel! Maybe it's…"

"Eric, that's ridiculous."

"Just a suggestion."

"So, is that all you know about the robbery's?"

"Pretty much. Although, there's a large shipment of dust coming in from the Schnee Dust Company in a week, and we suspect they might strike their next."

"Alright. Thanks guys." Lily turned and walked past reception before leaving the station.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Amy and Cardin circled each other. She could see the sweat coming off his brow.

_Not so cocky now, are you? _

She was going to teach him a lesson. No one messed with her friends and got away with it.

The silence was deafening. No one had spoke a word since she had called him out.

She drew out her weapon, named Storm Chaser, a sword with both a rifle and scythe mode.

Cardin gulped, and equipped his mace.

She held out her hand, and began counting down on her fingers…

_3,2, 1… _

"Begin!" Damion yelled out, in a deep commentator voice before Samantha slapped him on the head. "Ouch!"

Cardin backed up as Amy rushed him, with a series of slashes to his body, which he was barely able to deflect. She ducked underneath his attack, before grabbing him by the leg and throwing him into the centre of the arena. He rolled back up, only to hit with a kick to the face and a punch to the back, knocking him down.

He was then hit into the air, and getting knocked back down, she switched to rifle form and holding it with one hand, took several shots which he was able to roll out of the way.

"I can certainly see why she's a world renowned huntress." Damion commented. Cardin's aura was already in the yellow, and he hadn't landed a single blow.

Getting taken down once again, his frustration went overboard, and he used the fire dust in his weapon to smash it into the ground, causing a huge line of fire. Instead of rolling out of the way, Amy jumped over it, smacking him in the face. Cardin let out a loud growl and actually threw his weapon at her, which she dodged.

Cardin blinked, realising what he had just done, and when Amy charged for him, he threw his hands up.

"I forfeit!"

She skidded past him and came to a stop.

"Remember everyone, when all else fails, just chuck your weapon and hope for the best."

Cardin hung his head in shame. The match hadn't even lasted for a minute. He had been made to look a fool.

"Okay, so that's the end of class everyone. Go on ahead and enjoy your lunch."

The students began to pour out. Bethany hung back for a second and walked over to Amy.

"Hey, can I-"

"Was that really necessary?" They both hadn't even noticed Alan.

Amy raised a eyebrow. "Was what necessary?"

"That! Sparring with Cardin and making him look like a fool."

"So your saying what he said to Lily was okay?"

"No, not at all! But reacting the way you did didn't exactly help the situation."

"So I shouldn't stick up for my friends?"

"That's not what I'm saying!"

"Well, what are you saying?" Amy's voice rose in volume.

"What I'm saying is that you two aren't fit to be teachers. We might have only had a few classes together, but I can already see that."

"What?!"

"I'm just saying! Lily is far too nervous…"

"Shut up!"

"And you are far too confrontational."

"Just go away Alan. Just go away."

She walked off.

Alan sighed and walked back where Blake was waiting for him.

"So! Do you want to-" He completely ignored Damion and Samantha.

"Oh yeah, sure, go and talk to your friend rather than your own teammates." Damion muttered. He looked at Bethany. "Hey! Beth, you coming or what?"

Without a word, Bethany turned and walked over to them.

"So, are we going or what?" Samantha asked.

**A few hours later: **

Re-entering their dormitory, Damion dug into his bag and drew out a board game. "Do you two want to play?"

"Sure." Samantha sat down on the floor. "Bethany?"

She was sat on one of the beds, staring out the window. "Hey, you okay?"

"Why was I chosen as leader?" She whispered quietly.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"No, it's not nothing." Samantha stood up and sat down next to her. "What did you say?"

"I said it's nothing!" Her tone rose in annoyance.

"With that kind of tone," Damion also stood up, "It can't just be nothing."

"Guys, really I'm fine. See?" She gave them a weak smile and a thumbs up.

"You really think we're going to fall for that? What's up? Is it Alan? I know it's only been a week or so, but he hasn't really spent all that much time with us, has he?" Damion said

"No, it's not Alan."

"What is it then?" Samantha asked.

"Why was I made team leader?"

"Because, they obviously thought you were the best fit for the role."

"But I'm not. I'm a terrible leader."

"Hey, don't say that." Samantha put a hand on her shoulder.

"Besides, look on the bright side! We haven't got stuck in a detention yet, so you must be doing something right!" Damion said.

"Do you think this is funny?!" Bethany suddenly turned on him. "It's all just one big joke to you, isn't it?"

"I didn't mean-"

"The bottom line is, some insufferable idiot decided it would be a good idea to make me the leader of the team! You don't get it, I'm a letdown, I'll drag you all down with me…"

"Try and calm-"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" She lashed out, punching Damion in the face, sending him flying into the wall.

The realisation of what she had just done hit her. "I- I"

She ran out the door.

"Hey, wait come back!"

"So," Alan said to Blake. "What do you think of Silva and Torchwick working with the White Fang?"

"I don't get it, the White Fang have never worked with a human before."

"Maybe they've changed their ways?"

"I don't know. But I do intend to find out."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Sure. Two is better than one."

"Blakey!" Yang suddenly scooted in front of them. "Their you are! Why don't you-"

"Beth! Come back!"

Alan watched as she suddenly came racing down the hall behind Yang, Damion and Samantha right behind her.

"Isn't that your partner?" Yang asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Don't you think you should go after her?"

Alan shrugged. "Seems Damion and Samantha have already got that covered."

"Okay…"

"That's a bit cold." Blake said. "She is your partner."

"She also saved your life, from what I heard." Yang said.

"Eh, I would've broken out eventually."

Alan walked on. Yang and Blake shared a look.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**And the best partner of the year award goes to… **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	10. Leadership

**Chapter 10: Leadership**

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Bethany had come to a stop outside Professor Ozpin's office.

_I'm going to make him switch the team leaders around. _

It would be that easy. Just tell him, listen to his speech, bla bla, do it anyway.

She walked right up to the door and put her hand on the door handle.

And then stopped.

_Who I'm I going to switch it around to? _

Uh oh, she hadn't thought of that.

_Damion, Samantha or Alan? _

She didn't know. That was a problem. She began to think about it, until Samantha and Damion came dashing round the corner. Damion had misinterpreted the speed he was going at and accidentally went flying into the wall.

"Beth!" He jumped back up to his feet. "What are you doing?"

Looking down, she noticed her hand was trembling slightly.

_Is this really fair? _

Was it fair to unload such a burden on someone's shoulders?

"Hey." Samantha walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. Then she noticed where they were. "Wait, your not-"

"Your not going to try and get yourself removed as leader, are you?" Damion finished her statement.

"Maybe." She still hadn't opened the door. She was now starting to have second thoughts.

"Why? Why would you-"

"Because I didn't want to be leader."

"Well, you did a pretty bad job of showing that." Damion said. "Considering all the crazy stuff you did at initiation, which is how they determine who the team leader is."

"Why didn't you tell a teacher, hell, why didn't you tell us?" Samantha asked.

"I would've told Amy. But she walked away, probably because she didn't care. Maybe Alan was right about what he said."

What neither of them noticed, was that Lily had just came around the corner, and had heard what was said.

"Why? What did Alan say?" Lily walked over to them.

Bethany avoided eye contact. She seemed more interested in the nearby wall.

"Bethany?" Lily's voice had a warning tone to it. "What did Alan say?"

"He said… that you two were terrible teachers and that you didn't deserve to be here."

"And your saying you agree with that?!"

"Hey, woah, woah." Damion stuck his arms out. "Nobody on either side knows the full story." He turned to Lily. "Bethany doesn't want to be team leader. She said she was going to tell Amy, but then Alan came over, said his piece, and then she walked off."

Bethany folded her arms, still avoiding eye contact. "I never wanted this. I never wanted to-"

"You know it was me and Amy's idea to make you leader? We're the ones who came up with the team name and put it forward to Ozpin."

Bethany finally looked at her. "So let me get this straight. You thought it was a good idea, to make me, a person with no leadership qualities, the leader? That's so funny I could almost laugh."

"Look," Lily put a hand on her shoulder. "I wasn't the leader of my own team, so I can't really say much. What can I say though, is that just because you are the leader, you shouldn't get into this mindset where you have to put on this strong confident facade, and you aren't allowed to feel weak. My brot-, I mean, my team leader did that. He had some… strong feelings about things, yet he never told us, because he was always helping us out with our own problems."

"You should have told someone, don't lock it all away behind a wall, because that wall is probably going to break. Like I'm sure it did. It wasn't right of Amy to walk away from you like that, but me and her… we've been going through some tough times."

"Why? What's up with you two?" Damion asked. Samantha slapped him in the face."That's none of your business." She hissed under her breath.

"Sorry!"

"But regardless," Lily continued. "I highly doubt that Ozpin will switch leaders at this point."

"I don't want to mess up, I'm afraid I'll mess up." Bethany said quietly.

"And if you do, you do. Big deal, your only human. Your teammates," She looked pointedly at Damion and Samantha, "Would be extremely nasty people if they judged you for that."

"No offence Lily," Samantha said. "But I can't help but wish you were more like this in class."

Lily sighed. "I know, I know, but I have my own nerves. I don't understand how Amy can be so confident…"

Bethany looked back at the door, and then walked away from it. "Okay. I'll try and… be better."

"We don't expect you to be better." Samantha embraced her gently. "We just expect you to be you."

Bethany smiled and hugged her back. Damion was grinning widely. Lily looked at him. "Where is Alan anyway? Shouldn't he be-"

The grin disappeared from Damion's face. "Oh, he just thinks that hanging out with his friend is more important than his partner."

_So he's one of those people… _She thought to herself

Lily threw the thought away. To think she had been like that once…

She turned around to find Damion embracing her too. Lily smiled.

_Is this what it feels to be a teacher? _

After letting her go, he put his hand out.

"Put it there everyone!" Bethany gave him a high five. Samantha rolled her eyes and gave him one too. He motioned towards Lily.

"Eh?"

She gave him a pat on the shoulder instead. "Aw…"

"Guys…" The three of them turned to her. "You do know that you can come talk to me right? Or Amy, when she's in a better mood. We can try and help you out. Any time, any place, any issue. You just need to ask."

"Of course." Damion gave her a thumbs up.

She grinned. "Right, that's okay. Just checking."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel was looking at a old photo on his own scroll. It was of several years ago. It was the photo that they had taken at the end of their first year at Beacon.

He looked so... happy. Which he was. Despite what he may have thought of it, despite the fact he didn't want to be a huntsman, he was happy.

The picture was now a painful memory he couldn't throw away. It wasn't because Amy and Lily were in it, oh no, it was because of the fourth person standing it, her soft brown hair hanging all over her face, the most beautiful smile he had probably ever seen.

Nicole.

She was no longer with them, and despite accepting she was dead a long time ago, it still hurt.

He didn't even notice a certain short girl wielding a parasol, sitting next to him and staring curiously at the picture. Neo and Roman had just returned the other day from their side of the operation. They had gathered so much dust, it was really a wonder what they were going to do with it all.

Neo pointed at Nicole, and looked at him curiously. "Yes, Neo, that's Nicole."

She nodded her head, and then elbowed him angrily in the ribs. "What is your-!"

She walked out the door and motioned for him to follow. Sighing, he looked at the picture one more time, and then put it back in his pocket. He went after Neo.

She was standing in front of the freezer, arms folded. Daniel then immediately noticed what the problem was. There was no ice cream. On any other day, he would have realised beforehand and bought some. But after the events of the past few days, his mind was all over the place, and he couldn't be bothered to listen to her.

"So, there's no ice cream. Big deal. Go and buy some yourself."

She pointed to herself, shook her head, and then pointed back to him.

"Instead of getting me, Lucy and Roman to buy it all for you, why don't you drag yourself off the couch for once, go and put your boots on, walk down to the shop, walk through the door, go to the frozen place, pick up the flavour you want, pay for it, and then your sorted. That will only take you about ten minutes at most."

She pouted at him, and used every girls secret weapon. The puppy eyes.

But Daniel was trained in the art of resisting it, having a sister and being the only male on his team. Lucy had never used the fabled technique before, because she could actually be arsed to get off her backside and go do the things she wanted to do.

"Neo, you know that doesn't work on me. Either you go and get it yourself, or you go and complain to Roman. Your choice."

She stamped her foot on the ground, and then walked off, wondering to herself why poor Dan couldn't go and do it for her.

A few minutes later, Roman arrived with Neo skipping cheerfully behind him. Roman looked at him, and Daniel shook his head in disapproval and tutted.

"It's the puppy eyes. They get to me every time." Roman groaned. "Daniel, how do you resist? Please, I beg of you, teach me your ways." He opened the door and left.

Neo plopped herself on the couch, a big happy smile on her face. She licked her lips at him, and Daniel decided he had had enough Neo for one day, and stood back up, and wandered off.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Amy!" Lily walked into their own personal dormitory, to find Amy sitting on the edge of the bed. "Are you… alright?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine."

She walked over and sat down next to her. "You know who I passed on my way here?"

"Who?"

"Bethany, Damion and want to know where they were?"

"Lily, I don't really-"

"Standing outside Professor Ozpins office."

She looked at her. "What?"

"And you want to know what they were doing? Bethany was saying about how she didn't want to be leader, and how she was going to talk to you about it, but then apparently you just walked off."

Amy's eyes widened a bit. "But Alan-"

"I know what Alan said. But why did you walk off like that? You've never let a couple of negative comments get to you before. Your usually the one telling me to ignore things like that."

Amy didn't say anything.

"Is it because of Daniel?"

"Well, great job Sherlock, you've cracked the case!" Amy sighed and dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Amy, I get that your frustrated over him. I obviously am too. But we can't let that get in the way of our teaching. If students come to us, we're supposed to listen to them."

"I know, but it's just-"

"But it's just nothing." Lily's voice held a hard tone to it. "We are the keys to their future, we are the ones who will determine whether they walk out of here prepared or not. We can't let our outside problems get in the way of that."

Amy sat up and looked at her.

"I ended up having to convince Bethany not to try and get the leaders swapped around. That could have been you. If I hadn't of shown up, who knows what could have happened?"

"You sure know how to make me feel bad."

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I'm just trying to make you understand."

Amy stood up. "Well, I always understood. You didn't need to tell me that. I guess I just let my feelings get in the way sometimes. But… you already know that."

"We'll deal with Daniel. I promise. I'm sure this is affecting him too. But we need to focus on what's most important right now. Our students."

"Yeah, your right. I should go and apologise."

"Speaking of apologising, have you apologised to Weiss yet? I know I laughed it off at the time, but I really am starting to think that you may have taken it a bit too far."

"No, I haven't. But I will. But at the same time, you damn well know how I feel about the Schnee Dust Company."

Amy walked out the door, leaving Lily to her own thoughts.

She walked down to Team BDAS' dormitory, only to be greeted with the sounds of shouting voices.

"And what were you doing while we were going after Bethany?!" Damion's voice was loud and annoyed. "Talking to your cat friend, were you?! Because she's obviously more important than the feelings of your own partner, who, let me remind you, saved your life at initiation!"

"Yeah, but-"

"But what?! Let me guess, you could have broken out all by yourself, thanks to the size of your own ego!"

"Hey, who the hell do you think you are?!"

"Who do I think I am? I'll tell you who I think I am! I think I actually give a damn about my team leader, while you seem to care more about-"

"That sounds bad." Amy said to herself, drawing closer to their door.

"Tell me Alan, when have you actually spent any time with us at all in these first few weeks? Never! You have never spent time with us, because your too busy trying to-"

Amy opened the door, causing everyone to turn round and look at her. "Oh, of course you would be here." Alan muttered.

"Is… everything okay?" Amy asked. "I was actually coming to speak with Beth, but then I heard shouting."

"Oh, yeah, sure, everything's fine." Damion threw himself onto the bed. Samantha just sat there, examining the hilt of her whip sword.

"Alright. Beth, would you mind…" She motioned to the door. Bethany stood up and walked out, leaving Alan and Damion glaring daggers at each other.

Closing the door, she looked at her.

"Look, Lily came to me and told me what happened. She said about how you were going to speak me to about it, and I just kinda wandered off. I'm… sorry. I shouldn't have walked away from you like that. It's just, after what Alan said, and a bunch of other stuff that's been going on, I wasn't in the best of moods. But I definitely shouldn't have done what I did."

Bethany sighed. "That's… that's fine. I understand. It's just, it didn't exactly help that you said that leaders don't matter."

"Well, that's just my way of looking at it. I may be your teacher, but you don't have to listen to everything I say."

"What did you mean then?"

"Look, back when I was attending Beacon, I saw several team leaders who took the term a bit too… literally. As in, they effectively harassed their own teammates, believing themselves to be better than them, just because their the leader. It's also because if you ask me, do leaders necessarily have any more rights than anyone else on the team?"

"Not really, no."

"Exactly! They still have to attend classes, they don't gain a special badge or anything, they're just like everyone else."

"Who was the leader of your team?" Bethany asked curiously. "I bet it was you or Lily."

"You'd be surprised to know that it actually wasn't."

"Oh? Who was it then?"

Amy let out a nervous laugh. "It was a guy called… never mind that."

Suddenly, a scroll began to ring. It was Bethany's.

"Sorry, let me just…"

She held it up to her ear. "Hello?"

Amy studied her as she talked. Recalling what had happened at initiation, making her the leader had seemed like a good call.

But just as she had seen leaders with massive egos, she had also seen ones who, much like Beth, didn't feel as if they were the right fit for the job,turn into strong and capable people.

She noticed that Bethany seemed to be getting very agitated. She was speaking in a relatively loud voice, and her hands, one curled into a fist, the other squeezing the scroll so hard it might break.

"What do you mean Lauren's moving schools again? Didn't she…"

A masculine voice came over the phone, who Amy assumed was her dad.

"I know Dad…"

_My IQ, plus 1 _

"… but do you really think she'll be happy?"

Another murmur was heard over the phone. "Well, alright then. If that's what you think is best. Yeah, love you too, bye."

She put her scroll away. "I can't believe she's moving schools again…" Bethany muttered.

"Who's moving schools?" Amy then immediately cursed her curiosity.

"My younger sister. This is the fourth time she's moved in about two years."

"Serious? Why's that?"

"She has really bad social anxiety, and I mean, really bad."

"Oh right. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Yeah, me too…"

"Speaking of which, I actually have a younger brother, who is currently in his last year of Signal Academy. He's hoping to come here next year."

"Really? That's… cool."

"It sure is!" She faltered upon realising something. "I… haven't actually seen him in about two years."

"How come?"

"Whenever your out there, constantly on the move, constantly on missions, you don't have a whole lot of time for family. It's also why I think sticking together as a team after you graduate from Beacon is so important. They become your family, in a way I suppose. I know it felt like that when I was at Beacon."

"What happened to your other two teammates then? Are you still in contact?"

Amy drew in a sharp breath.

_Should I tell her? No real harm in it I suppose. _

"One of them… died on our graduation mission. The other, he went off on his own endeavours."

"Amy, that's… I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's fine. Your okay. I got over it a long time ago." That wasn't necessarily true. "It's why me and Lily are so close. In a way, she has been my "family" every since I left home."

"Where did you live?"

"Mistral. In a nice town on the west."

"I've lived here, in Vale all my life."

"It's a nice enough place."

"Have you been to every kingdom?"

"Pretty much. I've only been to Atlas once, though. Got a good look around their Academy."

"I've heard their extremely strict."

"Extremely is a understatement. There is practically no joy in that place whatsoever. Every student was a robot, with their "good evening ma'am, and then the cafeteria food." Amy made a retching noise with her mouth. "Absolutely disgusting."

Bethany smiled. "Glad I wasn't born in Atlas then."

"They act like their this powerful, all mighty, kingdom, which, okay, fair enough, they are, but with the SCD and Faunus discrimination over there, it's really not a ideal place for a vacation."

"Faunus have it hard, don't they?"

"In Atlas, yes. Luckily, in Vale, Vacuo and Mistral, it's not as bad as it once was. Although that may be thanks to the White Fang."

"Almost makes you feel bad for people like Adam Taurus…"

_Evil people aren't born in a day. It's the actions they take, or the environment they live in, that determine who they are. _That's a quote that Daniel had said, and she always remembered it.

"Speaking of which, what do you think about all these robberies that have been going on? Like, I don't understand why the White Fang are teaming up with humans…"

"Me neither."

Looking out a nearby window, Amy thought about Daniel, and what he was doing…

_We will bring you back. I promise. _

_**Criminals and Mentors **_


	11. Knuckling down on the case

**Chapter 11: Knuckling down on the case**

"So, are we doing this or what then?" Alan asked Blake.

"Doing what?"

"You said you wanted to go after the White Fang, to find out why their working with humans."

"Not right now! I need to think on it some more…"

"But why wait around?" He came to a stop in front of her. "Why wait around when they could be out there, planning their next move? Why not stop them now?"

"I'm not sure…"

"They are a bunch of filthy, low-life criminals, we can take them!"

"What about our classes? We can't just-"

"Who cares about classes when people's lives are in danger?" He took her by the shoulders, and she flinched a bit. "We're huntsmen now. We are supposed to be doing stuff like this, going out on missions, helping people! Isn't this what you want to do? To go after them?"

"I guess."

"So who cares if we miss a couple classes? In fact, let's go right now! Come on!"

Ignoring the mass number of students making their way to class, he shoved his way through them, and beckoned her to come on.

Shaking her head, Blake went after him.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Gee, I wonder where Alan and Blake are…" Damion muttered upon realising that Alan wasn't here. Stealing a quick glance at team RWBY, he noticed they seemed to be wondering where their own teammates were.

They were sitting in Professor Port's class, while he wowed them with another tale from his long, fabled Grimm killing past.

"Then that beast came at me, but using my…"

Damion then looked at his own partner, who was trying her best not to fall asleep. He slapped her lightly on the head. "Come on, gotta focus Sam!"

She rolled her eyes at him, before focusing her attention on back on Port.

"Alan wasn't like, sick or anything." Bethany said to the two of them.

"Well, it's quite convenient that Blake would be off too, don't ya think?" Damion said.

"Yeah, he does seem to like her quite a lot." Samantha commented.

"They're both bunking off." Damion said.

"We can't say that for sure." Bethany fiddled with her pencil, very clearly bored, until a piece of paper hit her on the back of the head. Turning around, Cardin sat, feet up on the table, whistling. Sighing, she wanted to chuck the paper back at him, but decided against it.

_What a jerk… _

Bullying students, bullying teachers. Amy had smacked him down with ease a few days ago, and he was still at it.

_This must be what Lauren goes through every day… _

Her poor younger sister. How she wished she could see her…

_I'll call her after our classes end. _

That was all she could really do, console her.

She drummed her fingers on the table, waiting impatiently for class to end, to escape, because she wasn't really interested in hearing a tale about…

"We're only fifteen minutes in." Samantha said, motioning to the clock. She grimaced.

Damion groaned and slammed his face into the table.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Oh-ho! What's this I hear?" Roman was flipping through his scroll, until he stumbled upon a very interesting article.

"Bowler hats are back in fashion?" Lucy perked up.

"No, although that would be nice. Instead, it would appear that there is a large shipment of dust from the Schnee Dust Company, coming into the docks tomorrow. You know what that means."

"As useful as it may be, why would they publicise this? It's practically screaming for someone to come along and steal it."

"Maybe they want us to come and steal it. Maybe it's a trap, and they'll jump us as soon as we get anywhere near it." Daniel had appeared at the door.

Lucy snorted. "Really? It'll take more than a few Atlas soldiers to stop us."

"Just a suggestion." He walked in, with a drink in his hand. Both Roman and Lucy stared at him. Daniel never drunk anything stronger than coffee, and yet, here he was, holding a bottle of alcohol.

He finished it off, and threw the bottle in the bin. He sat down on the couch.

_He doesn't seem drunk… _Lucy thought to herself.

_Gee, guess seeing Amy and Lily had more of a effect on him than I thought. _Roman wondered.

"Are you… alright?" Lucy asked him.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure, I'm fine. Why?"

"You never drink alcohol. Every."

He shrugged. "Calm down, I'm not hungover, it was only a bit."

"Daniel." She shuffled up closer to him. "Are you sure-"

"Lucy, don't worry yourself. There's nothing wrong."

Roman, sensing the growing tension, got up and left the two of them alone.

"Have you… talked to Lily or Amy since-"

"No, I haven't." He waved his hand at her. "I will soon though." Anybody but Lucy might have believed him.

She put her hand on top of his. He looked at her for a moment, almost thinking she meant it romantically for a second, especially when she shuffled up even closer, and laid her head on his shoulder.

He felt his breath catch in his mouth, and looked down at her, almost considering trying to push her off. But she had done this loads of times before, and it made him… feel better. Anybody on the outside would have thought they were a couple, but they weren't.

Daniel thought they didn't need to be, and he knew she thought the same. Platonic love. That was how you described it.

_Amy, Lily… _

How he wished he could have talked to them. How he wished he was brave enough to tell them why he had ran.

So why didn't he? Why hadn't he talked, why had he pushed Lily away, why had he pushed them away?! What was wrong with him?!

He didn't even realise he had surged out of his seat, and punched the nearby wall, until a loud crack was heard. He looked at the dent in the wall, and heard Lucy standing up behind him.

"Woah, try not to bring the roof down on us."

He didn't say anything.

"Look, I know that your frustrated. I know you want to speak to them again, so just-"

"So just what? Ring them up? Because it's just that easy, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, it kinda is…"

Daniel snapped at her, snapped at her in a way he never had before. He didn't know what he was saying, all he knew was that hurtful things were flying out of his mouth at a rapid pace.

But then, just like with Lily, he realised what he had said, and immediately knew he couldn't take it back…

_No, no what have I done?_ She slowly backed away from him, noticing the wild look in his eyes.

"No! I didn't mean to- AGGHHHH!"

He grabbed the couch and smashed it on the floor as hard as he could. He grabbed the drink bottle out of the bin and threw it out the window.

_Why do I do this?! Why do I constantly have to push people away?_

"Daniel! Stop-"

A chair went hurtling into the wall. He threw himself against it, breaking the chair. Then, eyeing up the window, he kicked it as hard as he could, breaking away the glass fragments. He then jumped out the window, and began running down the street.

Jumping out the window, she went after him.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Alan and Blake were walking down a road, discussing potential plans.

"So, where do you reckon they would strike next?"

"Probably at one of the dust shops, that would seem most likely."

"So are we supposed to boycott all the dust shops then? Just the two of us?"

"Hey, come back!" They both turned to see two men chasing after a monkey Faunus, who was dashing down the street. "Come back here, you animal!"

They both ran past them, only for Alan to then jump out and take both of the men down in a single slash.

Sun Wukong then turned behind him to find that the two men were lying on the floor, out like a light. "Huh, what-"

He then watched as Alan sheathed his claws. "Oh, right." He then immediately winked at Blake.

"Why were they chasing after you?" Alan asked him.

"I stowed away on a boat." He pointed his thumb in the direction he had came from. "Those guys caught me, and chased after me, until you two showed up." He looked at the men on the floor.

"Where were you coming from?" Blake asked him.

"Vacuo. Me and my team are competing in the Vytal Festival."

"Well… where are your teammates then?"

"Oh, they don't come for a few more days. I suggested stowing away, and they said no. But then I decided to do it anyway."

Alan raised a eyebrow at him. "Was that really the best idea?"

"No, probably not, but it seemed a good idea at the time!"

"Right…"

"Oh, I'm Sun by the way. Sun Wukong!"

After Alan and Blake had introduced themselves, they all took a walk down the road.

"So, do you two go to… Wait, no you couldn't go to Beacon Academy."

"We do though…"

"Huh? But… aren't classes supposed to be on now? Or does Beacon have some really weird way of working things?"

"We're skipping." Blake said simply.

"Is that really the best idea?" Sun asked.

"We're looking into the whole White Fang thing." Alan said

"What White Fang thing?"

"Are you serious? You don't know-"

"I know exactly who the White Fang are. But, what is this thing you are talking about?"

"They've started working with humans."

"Hold on a second, did you just say-"

"You heard me right."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on, slow down. The White Fang, the organisation that wants to basically wipe out the human race, is working with humans? Why?"

"That's what we intend to find out."

"Right, well don't you two worry, because now Sun's on the case, all will be fine!" Blake rolled her eyes.

"Come on then…" She continued walking down the street.

"Not very talkative is she?" Sun said to Alan, only to find he was right behind her.

"Okay, so this is who I'm dealing with…"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

By the time she had caught up with him, Lucy was gasping for breath when he finally slowed down and came to stop. They were standing at a cliffside, and there was a bench set directly in the middle.

Daniel went and sat down, and Lucy practically collapsed into it. "Gee Danny, can't you at least-"

"This is where Amy told Lily that she had cheated her way into Beacon, with my help." He said softly. Forcing herself into a upright position, she looked at him.

"I wasn't sure what to think after that, I thought it was a relationship that could never be mended. I thought that maybe the two of them just weren't right for each other. But looking at them now, I guess I was wrong."

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her like he hadn't even realised she was there. "Your right Lucy. I should call them up, I should talk to them. But there's something holding me back…. and I don't know what is it. You were right when you said this should be easy. All I have to do is…" He took out his scroll and clicked on Lily's contact, finger hovering over the call button. "All I have to do is hit that button."

He then put it away with a sigh. "But I can't. Something's preventing me from taking that step forward."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, and that's the problem. I don't know!"

"Hey," She put a hand on his shoulder. "You said back there that I don't know what it's like to meet family again after a long time. And in a way, your right. I don't know what it's like, because all my family are dead…"

"Lucy, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't say your sorry." She held up a hand. "I know you didn't mean what you said. I know you would never hurt me like that. I know how you get when you think you've hurt someone you care about. You blame yourself, and quite frankly, you shouldn't. You just get very… emotional sometimes. And it's not like I haven't had my own outbursts. But we always get through them, right?"

"I suppose…"

"Just like you need to get through this whole Amy, Lily situation."

"But how I'm I supposed to-"

"It's simple. Either you call them, or you delete their contacts."

"W-What?" He stood up suddenly.

"Daniel, the more you don't call them, the more you'll obsess over them, the more you'll blame yourself. Roman doesn't want that, Neo doesn't want that, and I definitely do not want that. Which is why…" She stepped a bit closer to him. "You aren't leaving here until you've either called them, or deleted them. If you can't delete them, hand it over to me and I'll do it myself. You are going to make this choice now. No more putting it off." She outstretched her hand.

Daniel thought about it, considered his options. Maybe she was right, maybe he should delete them…

_You know you can't do that. _

No, he had to talk to them. Lily was his sister after all.

Taking a deep breath, he hit the call button and held it to his ear. Lucy took a step back and smiled.

"I'd thought you'd do that."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Lily and Amy were taking sparring when she got the call. And looking down at who it was, Lily gasped out loud. The class and Amy both stared at her. Lily quickly ran over to Amy and showed her who it was, and Amy was able to contain her emotions much better, simply nodding and motioning for her to answer it. Lily left the room. Amy turned back to the class.

"So, I think next we'll have…"

Lily, now out of the room, put her scroll to her ear, and tried to calm herself down. "Daniel?"

He didn't answer, and she thought he might have hung up. But then…

"Lily." His voice was firm. "It's been a while."

"Why, why did you-"

"Look, I know you must have a lot of questions. Why did I leave, why did I become a criminal, and honestly, sometimes, I don't think I know the answer myself. But you need to know this. For every waking moment of these past few years, I have missed you. Missed Amy. Missed Nicole." His voice broke when he said her name. "I question myself every day, wondering why I didn't do more to save her."

"Daniel, it wasn't your fault what happened to her. We all could have done a bit more."

"Maybe."

Neither of them spoke for several long moments.

"So… who's this Lucy girl, and how did you meet?"

"That's a…" She could hear him talking to her for several seconds. "A long story. Maybe I'll save it for another time. If there is another time."

"There will be. Now we both know your so close, neither me or Amy are going to let you leave us again."

"I know."

"So, do you want to like, meet up or something?"

"When?"

"Tomorrow, maybe about… 3 o'clock?"

"I can't make it at that time. There's a large shipment of dust coming in at the docks, and I need to…" He stopped himself.

"You need to what?"

"Never mind that. I need to go now. I promise I'll call you at some point."

She was reluctant to leave, but she had to her back to there class.

"Okay. I love you!" She hung up.

Daniel took the scroll away from his ear. "I love you too…"

He peered over the cliff, and soon he felt tears beginning to drip out of his eyes. They were fast, and he couldn't stop them.

But then, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his front, as Lucy embraced him.

He looked towards the broken moon in the sky.

_Maybe I can make this work…_

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Volume 1 is drawing to a close soon. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	12. Battle at the docks

**Chapter 12: Battle at the docks**

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Alan! Alan! Where are you?"

"Blake, Blake? Are you here?"

Teams BDS and RWBY were out searching for their missing teammate. Lily and Amy had agreed to help out, but even with ten of them, they weren't getting anywhere.

It was almost as if the two of them had just disappeared into thin air.

"Damion, your not helping!"

He simply shrugged and continued flicking through his scroll. "If he wants to come back, he'll come back."

"How can you say that?" Bethany asked.

He didn't reply.

"Well, we're very clearly not getting anywhere doing this." Amy said. "How about we split up? Team RWBY go to that side of the city, and me, Lily and you guys go to this side of the city." She threw her arms out.

"That's not a bad plan…" Ruby commented.

"Of course it's not, because I came up with it. Oh, and Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"I probably should have said this sooner, but sorry about mocking you on the first day. That really wasn't right of me."

"Really? And you've only realised that now? Took you long enough."

"Look, I'm not interested in starting a argument."

"Oh, so now you don't want to argue? You and your two friends seemed to think it was just hilarious making fun of me."

"Well, maybe if your company-" Amy stopped herself.

"What about my company?"

"Nothing. Just go and find your teammate."

"You really are just like everyone else. Judging me based on what my father has done." Weiss stalked away.

Amy slowly curled her hand into a fist, took a deep breath, and then uncurled it. Lily looked up at her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Come on, let's go and find Alan."

They went after the others.

"Why do you think he might have disappeared?" Samantha asked.

"I dunno. He's your teammate, you tell me." Amy said.

"Was it us? Did we do something?" Bethany wondered out loud.

Damion stopped, stared at her, and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

He didn't say anything, and continued on laughing.

"Damion! Something could have happened to him!"

"Oh boy. Bethany, let me assure you, we have done nothing. He's the one who ran off, so he very clearly mustn't care."

"How can you say that? He's our teammate, my partner!"

"Did he ever thank you for saving his life at initiation?" He asked suddenly.

Bethany stopped. She took a step back. "W-What?"

"At initiation. You saved him from being eaten by that spider. Did he ever thank you?"

"N-No, he didn't."

"Exactly. That proves my point."

"Now, let's not fall to assumptions." Amy said. "There could be something we don't know."

She looked at Lily, who was staring ahead of her. While the others continued to talk, Amy turned to her.

"It's almost 3 o'clock." She commented.

"I know. The docks aren't that far away from here." Lily hadn't slept much the night before. She had been mainly thinking about Daniel, and as soon as she had heard that Alan had gone missing, and Bethany had asked the two of them to help look for him, she had taken that opportunity to also hang around the docks.

Because whatever Daniel was planning, it couldn't be good…

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Wow. I can't believe you were actually a part of the White Fang." Alan and Blake were hanging out by the docks, surveying to find out what was going on. Sun had told them to meet him here, while he got some "refreshments."

"I was a part of it for nearly my whole life. I was basically born into it. Didn't have much choice."

"I mean, I don't necessarily think what they're doing is bad-" Blake shot him a glare. "But they're methods are a bit… violent."

Alan didn't actually think there was anything wrong with that, but he wasn't going to tell Blake that.

"So, did I miss anything?" Sun had appeared out of thin air, carrying a few apples and bottles of water.

"Not really. They've offloaded the crates, but nothing has really happened."

"Oh right. I stole both of you some food!" He held it out.

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?"

"Weren't you part of a cult or something?"

"It's not a cult." Alan said. "It's a bunch of mistreated Faunus who have decided to fight back after being discriminated against for so long."

"That's one way of putting it. But I think a cult sounds better."

The sounds of a bullhead could be heard from above. Looking up, all three of them almost got caught in the spotlight, but were quickly able to move out of the way.

It circled above, before setting down. A couple of White Fang members began to get off.

"That's not good."

"You didn't really believe it was them, did you?" Alan asked Blake.

"I think I always knew. Just didn't want to be right."

"What are we all waiting for?"

They all looked up as Daniel and Lucy walked out of the bullhead. The Lieutenant was there as well.

"No time for faffing about. Get these tow cables out, and let's get these things moved!" Daniel called out.

"Why would they work with a human like him? A low life criminal." Alan muttered.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out." Blake jumped off, and began to run over to where they were standing.

"Hey, wait!" Sun called out, but Alan was already following her. "Not again!"

Blake peered out behind the crate.

"Hurry up everyone! We don't want someone showing up now, do we?"

Blake darted out from behind the crate, and soon had her blade pressed to his throat. "Oh, wonderful."

"Nobody move!"

The White Fang stopped. Lucy kept advancing on them, but Daniel mouthed "Wait" to her.

She stopped, fidgeting with her daggers.

"And what may you be doing out here so late?"

"Why are you working with the White Fang?"

"Ladies first."

She pressed the blade against his neck harder.

"Oh dear me, you don't understand what you've gotten yourself into, do you?"

The White Fang seemed very hesitant, whereas Lucy wanted nothing more than to chuck a dagger into the cat's head.

Blake took off her ribbon.

"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang, why are you working with this scum?"

They all took a step back. Lucy took a step forward.

"If you don't let him go now little girl, you are going to get hurt."

"Scum? Why, that offends me dearly. Secondly, she's not joking when she says that. When she says hurt, she doesn't mean a slight bruise on the knee, we're talking cracked skulls, broken ribs, and fractured arms. It's not pretty, Blake Belladonna, it's not pretty."

"How do you know my name?"

"Someone keeps on mentioning you. Now, what was his name again? I think it was…Adam Taurus?"

"Your lying!"

"I am not. Now, time for you to release me and run away as fast as your legs can carry you."

She didn't let go of him.

"Guess we're doing this the hard way then."

Daniel's body began to shimmer with a pale blue light. All of a sudden, Blake felt someone behind her. Daniel drew his arm back, and punched, and Blake felt someone hit her in the back, and she was thrown to the side.

Looking up, she saw that he had created a clone of himself. That was his semblance, called "doppelgänger".

Daniel drew out his dual pistols, and began firing. Thanks to the clone, the firing rate was doubled, as well as all the White Fang and Lucy, who had combined Poison and Venom to make a semi automatic pistol. Blake was sent flying back, and had to duck behind a container for cover.

"Come here you little-" Lucy slipped and fell on a banana peel, to then get jumped on by Sun. Alan made his appearance, joining Blake.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Sun jumped off, and stared down Lucy. "Leave them alone."

More White Fang jumped out of the bullheads.

"You might want to run with your tail in between your legs." Lucy said.

The White Fang charged. Sun began to take them out, one by one. Alan rushed in to help him, whereas Blake hung back a bit.

Sun kicked one of the White Fang towards Daniel, who ducked underneath it.

"Do we have to do everything ourselves?" He fired at Alan, who deflected it, and then Blake jumped in front of them.

"He's mine!"

She rushed for him, and slashed at him. Daniel countered her first blow, and then countered the follow up. She used her semblance to try and distract him, but he didn't fall for it, and soon he was on the offensive, forcing Blake backwards. His strikes came down fast and hard, giving her very little breathing room. He didn't let up, didn't slow down. Eventually, he broke her defence, with a solid kick to the stomach, only for Sun to then jump into the fray, equipping his gun-chucks.

What followed was a crazy back and forth, with Daniel deflecting every shot back at Sun. He swiped Death's Grace down, trapping his staff, before punching him in the face, knocking him back too. Alan then went for him, but instead of clashing with a sword, he met the bladed edge of Poison, as Lucy sought to take care of him. Alan swiped and swiped, but none of his blows connected, as Lucy dodged and cartwheeled past them all.

All with that smirk on her face. It was really beginning to rile Alan up.

He tried to go for the leg, but she jumped up, kicking him in the face, before grabbing him by the arm, slashing him in the face and throwing him over her shoulder. He dodged her next strike, but she was already on him again, a whirlwind of blows he couldn't hope to block.

He got knocked back, right into Daniel, who knocked him into the air, and leaped up, smacking him into Sun, and they both went down. Blake was dispatched when Daniel hit her in the chest with a sword strike.

"Scurry on out of here kids." Lucy said. "Your outmatched."

Looking back, Daniel saw that most of the White Fang had regrouped, but they were being taken out.

_Come on! Who else is here? _

When they were taken out, he got a clear look at who it was.

_No way! _

Amy and Lily, along with some kids he had never seen before had turned up.

_Why..._

They were here, again. He was going to have to fight them.

The White Fang split up, rushing the students. Lily turned around and caught his eye. Even after all this time she was still wielding the same weapon.

NightSlayer. A chainsaw sword with the barrel of a gun built into it which he had helped her design.

But that didn't matter now. He couldn't very well just walk up and start a casual conversation, there would be questions. Questions not from her, but from her students.

Without any further ado, he rushed her. He saw her eyes widened before she jumped out of the way.

His sword met solid ground as she stared at him.

"I'm not going to fight you." He charged again, missing again.

"Lily, what are you doing? If your students realise you aren't fighting me..."

Being a teacher was probably hard enough already. She didn't need that extra pressure.

A brief look of realisation flicked across her face. She didn't want to, but she drew her weapon.

He brought his sword down again, and this time she deflected it.

Lucy looked at Amy, who had just taken out a few White Fang troops.

Amy stared at her. _So this is who Daniel has spent the past few years of his life with… _

Not a word was exchanged as Amy went for Lucy, and nearly scored a devastating blow.

Bethany, Damion and Samantha were occupied with the White Fang, as the Lieutenant was proving to be a formidable opponent. At one point, Damion was nearly on the receiving end of a chainsaw slash to the body, but Bethany was barely able to save him by deflecting it.

Daniel lashed out at his sister, who backflipped away from him, and he got the impression she was holding back. Activating his semblance once again, he unleashed a flurry of slash's. She barely deflected them, and he finished it off with a straight kick to the face.

"Can't we just-!"

Death's Grace met NightSlayer, as brother and sister came face to face with each other. Then, Lily was suddenly holding two weapons, and he was forced to back up.

He saw that she had activated her own semblance. The ability to clone an object. The difference from his was that he could only clone his body and whatever he had on him. Lily could clone any object.

He remembered the day she had discovered her semblance, when she had accidentally cloned a box that was falling. It had hit him on the head. He smiled at the memory.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and Daniel's attention was drawn to Lucy being flung to the side, just next to him.

"Okay, she's tough. Very tough."

_Of course she is. I trained her after all… _

But there was no time to dwell on that now. He and Lucy were caught between the two of them. Daniel made the first move, firing his guns at the two of them, which was quickly blocked. It was only meant to serve as a distraction though, as Lucy went for Lily, trying to kick her in the face, but Lily was able to redirect her blow, tossing her to the side. Daniel went blow for blow with Amy, but he was quickly cut short when he was doubled teamed, which lead to him being knocked back.

Getting back up to his feet, Lily surged towards him, only for him to lower his back, and Lucy jumped over with a blow that connected. Amy was next, and Lily rejoined her, as the two duos battered each other.

"Why won't you bratty kids die already?!" The Lieutenant angrily shouted. He swung his chainsaw once again, failing to connect with anything but the hilt of Samantha's whip sword, as she whipped it round his legs, tripping him up. Growling, he got back up and swing again, but Damion kicked off his chest, allowing Bethany to throw one of her swords at him, knocking it off his front, she ran up and grabbed it, kicking him once again. Samantha whacked him in the face again, and Damion attempted to follow up, but was grabbed and slammed into the earth. The Lieutenant brought his chainsaw down, ready to cut him in half.

"Die feeble human!"

His chainsaw bounced off of something hard. Looking down, Bethany had thrown herself in front of Damion, and she was glowing with a bright white light. He backed up as the light faded. Damion gave her a perplexed look, but Bethany was already up and engaging the Lieutenant once again. She parried his chainsaw to the side and knocked him down with a kick to the face.

Before he could get back up, Damion was pinning him to the floor, weapon to neck. Samantha kicked the chainsaw out of his hand, leaving him defenceless.

Bethany turned around and noticed Amy being kicked back by Daniel.

"Stay here." She ran towards them.

"Wait!" Samantha called after her, following her.

Damion looked down, and kicked the Lieutenant in the face, knocking him out and ran after them.

Daniel noticed them all of them coming towards him.

"I think it's time to leave." He hurriedly said to Lucy. She nodded her agreement. Looking around, he saw a bullhead.

Quickly dispatching Lily, they both began to ran towards it. What Daniel didn't notice, was that Lily had stuck something in his pocket.

"There getting away!"

"Stop them!"

Daniel fumbled around in his pocket, and drew out a playing card. He hurled it towards them, but this one wasn't a explosive.

"Hey, what does that-"

A large plume of smoke kicked up, causing everyone to start coughing.

"Hurry up! Get us out of here, get us out of here!"

One of the White Fang members who had also jumped on, began to pilot it away, and by the time the smoke had cleared, they were already long gone.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

The police had arrived not long after.

Bethany had embraced Alan as soon as she had seen him, but he hadn't returned it, nor did Damion or Samantha show the same affection.

"Did you manage to give him it?" Amy asked Lily.

"Yeah, I did. Do you think he'll come?"

"He might, he might not."

"Maybe he'll-"

"So then, want to explain to us what you've been doing over these past few days?"

"That is none of your concern."

"Oh joy, here we go again." Amy muttered.

"None of our concern?" Damion got right up in Alan's face. "Don't think you've realised wise guy, but we are your teammates, not her." Damion pointed to where Blake was standing with the rest of team RWBY. "So, I think just a little bit of a explanation would be appreciated."

Alan said nothing and crossed his arms.

"Not going to tell us? Well, that's fine then, cause quite frankly, I wasn't worried about you in the slightest, since your obviously a big boy and know exactly what your doing."

"Damion!"

"Well, look, they got away, so you showing up here clearly didn't do all that much. How did getting your backside kicked by two criminals feel like?"

"What did you expect me to do?! Watch them steal the dust?!"

"No, what a smart person would do is call for backup." He took his scroll out and flicked it over to his contacts. "See this? It's called the "call" button. You ever used it before?"

"I didn't-"

"I don't care what you did or didn't do. What matters most is that if we hadn't showed up, you would have died. Daniel and Lucy would have killed you."

Alan simply turned his back to him.

"Look at you! You don't care! Just like you don't care about me, or Sam, or your own partner. Bethany was worried about you, Alan!"

"Was she? Well, good for her."

Damion made a very frustrated gesture. "She saved your life at initiation! What don't you get about that?! SHE SAVED YOUR LIFE!"

Bethany was trying to ignore the two of them, but it was hard. Samantha put a hand on her shoulder. Amy and Lily were simply watching the conversation.

"I would have-"

"Would have what? Broken out?! Yeah, of course you would have, because your Alan O Malloy, the greatest warrior to ever walk into Beacon! Friends are overrated anyway!"

Damion walked up to him and shoved him as hard as he could. "What do I need to say to get you to understand?!"

"Don't you dare-!"

He shoved him again. "Why are you so cold hearted?!"

"I am not cold-!"

"Hey, hey, woah, woah, let's not do this now, okay?" Amy put herself in between the two of them. She looked back at Bethany, who had her back turned. Lily and Samantha were both talking to her.

"What is your problem Alan?" Damion wasn't done yet. "How can one man be so arrogant, so self entitled and so cold?"

Alan wasn't interested. He simply walked away, down the street.

"Where are you going?!"

No response.

"What is his deal?" Damion muttered.

Amy sighed. "If I knew, I would tell you, but I don't know. Some people… are just like that. You can't befriend everyone."

"I'm aware of that. But look at him! He's a soulless, egotistical bast-"

"I fully agree. But I'm sure there is a reason for that."

Amy walked towards the others.

"Maybe." Damion said under his breath.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

A few bullheads landed back at the warehouse. The other White Fang members had been able to grab the Lieutenant and quickly pull him onto one of them.

Daniel and Lucy both walked off one and into the warehouse.

"That… could have gone better." Lucy said.

"You don't say."

They were greeted with shouting. Cinder had asked to speak to Roman, so that's why he and Neo hadn't came.

"Listen up here Miss Genius! I did not join your stupid little crusade, to be treated like some-!"

Daniel opened the door to find Roman flung against the wall, Cinder had him by the throat.

"You listen Roman. If I tell you to do something, you do it. No questions asked."

Neo was gripping her parasol, hard. Mercury and Emerald were also there, their expressions neutral.

"Put him down."

Cinder turned and looked at Daniel. He didn't even realise what he had said until it was too late. "I'm sorry? Since when were you the one telling me what to do?"

"I'm not telling you to. If you don't put him down, I will wipe that smirk right off your face."

She didn't let go of him. "Are you threatening me?"

"Perhaps."

"You have quite the nerve to demand things of me."

"And you have quite the nerve to think I'm just going to let you do stuff like that. Now, are you going to put him down, or are we going to have a issue?"

Lucy looked up at him. She almost seemed scared by his tone of voice.

Cinder let Roman go, and Neo rushed to his side. Cinder very slowly walked over to Daniel.

"You are aware that I could kill you, right here, right now?"

"You could. But you wouldn't. Like it or not, Cinder, you do need us. If you were to kill me, you'd be losing one of your most important players in this game you are playing. I could very easily walk away from this plan if I wanted to."

"Do you not remember what I said when we first me?"

Daniel silently cursed. He had forgotten. That promise she had made to him if he joined up with very words haunted him now.

_If you do not join up with me, I can't guarantee your dear sister or her friend will be alive too much longer… _

That is what she had from Cinders smile, she knew that he knew.

"Let us forget about this little disagreement and move on." Cinder said.

_Yeah right…_

Because he knew what he had to do.

Cinder, along with Mercury and Emerald, left the room. Emerald shot him a angry glare.

When he was sure they were gone, he knelt down next to Roman.

"You didn't need to do that." Roman was still fingering his throat.

"Well, I chose to anyway."

Roman stood back up.

"I know that look on your face." Lucy said. "This is when your about to suggest something very crazy, dangerous, and incredibly stupid."

"Crazy, maybe. Dangerous, yes. Stupid, no. Let's all agree this. We all hate Cinder Fall. We want her dead, correct?"

"More than anything." Neo nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, why don't we kill her then?"

They all stared at him.

"Now, Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and Neo are heading to Beacon tomorrow, so we can't do it before then. However, the Vytal Festival is coming up soon, correct?"

'Yes."

"So, why don't we sneak into the Vytal Festival, sneak into the students bit, find her, and slash her throat?"

"In front of all those people? You are crazy." Roman said.

"Okay, okay, so maybe that wouldn't be best. But are all you with me on this? Do you want to kill Cinder?"

There was a long silence. Then, Roman spoke.

"I'm in."

"Neo?"

She nodded her head excitedly.

"Lucy?"

"Sure."

"Well, then it's set." He rubbed his hands together. "Cinder is going to die."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**About ten minutes later: **

_Wow. That was surprisingly easy. Thought it would take a whole lot more convincing. _

Daniel fingered around in his pocket, looking for his scroll, but instead his hand closed over a bit of paper. Confused, he took it out.

He recognised the handwriting immediately, despite not having seen it in ages. It was Lily's. She must have slipped it into his pocket at some point.

_Eat Your Heart Out, Monday, 5:30. Please come. _

He knew where Eat Your Heart Out was. It was a restaurant, and a fast food place at the same time somehow. The food was absolutely gorgeous. He and his team used to go there all the time.

_They want me to meet them there… _

Was he going to go? Could he really bear to be there?

_Yes. Yes you can. _

Would it really be-

_Daniel, you are going to go. End of story. _

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, watching the broken moon in the sky.

He was going to put his hatred of their career paths aside.

He was going to go.

He was going to see them again.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**And with that, Vol 1 has drawn to a close! **

**Thank you to everyone who has followed this story so far! **

**Clarence Potter. **

**Combine117 **

**EXRB**

**IanAlphaAxel**

**JcL107**

**Miasushi**

**RandomBoi33 (Great name by the way) **

**I would still write this, regardless of whether people were reading it or not, but it's good to know people are enjoying it! Thank you!**

**Have a good day and hopefully you'll enjoy Vol 2 as well! (And beyond) I've got a bunch of stuff planned…**


	13. Heartwarming reunion?

**Chapter 13: Heartwarming Reunion? **

**Vol 2 Summary: **

**Daniel Silva has one goal: killing Cinder Fall. Meanwhile, Lucy is struggling with old demons as rumours began to circulate. Back at Beacon, Team BDAS has went from 4 to 3 members as Alan has gone missing… **

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Two months ago: **

"Well, hello gorgeous." Roman began to laugh. Daniel looked at him, and eyed up the women who had just entered. She was pretty attractive, he had to admit. But there was something about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Almost a kind of power, he could almost sense it.

"Why, aren't you a gentleman?" She gave Roman a smile. She then turned to Daniel.

"Would you be Daniel Silva?"

"Might be."

"May I have a moment of your time?"

He spread out his arms. "I'm standing right in front of you. Go ahead."

"Very well. I am Cinder Fall and these are my associates, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black."

"Wait…" He eyed up the sliver-gray haired boy. "Are you the son of Marcus Black? The assassin?"

He didn't say anything.

"Mercury's father should not be a concern of yours." Cinder continued. "Anyway, I have a proposition to make."

"A proposition?"

"I won't beat around the bush. I need your assistance in destroying Beacon."

Daniel stared at her for a long moment, and so did Roman. Lucy and Neo were both staring too.

Roman was about to speak, before Daniel burst out laughing.

"What is so amusing?"

"Oh, oh, that's a good one. Destroy Beacon? Good luck with that!" He saw the cold determination in her eyes. "Wait, your serious?"

"I have never been more serious in my life."

"Um, I hate to burst your bubble, but it's Beacon! You know, the school devoted to training the next protectors of the world! We wouldn't stand a chance!"

"I have… contacts. Powerful contacts who will be more then happy to help out. Why, Adam Taurus is already with us."

"Adam Taurus, huh?" He walked to the side.

"We need you. You, Roman and, whoever you two are." She flicked a dismissive hand towards Lucy and Neo.

"But why us of all people? You could have gone to any criminal in the city, yet you chose us. Why?"

"Your skills are required for the job."

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I'm afraid we're not interested. You see, I know Roman would love to have a hot lady walking around the place, but I'm afraid the seducing voice and nice looks aren't going to work on me. The answer is no. Best of luck though, I'll be sure to the read the news article titled "Beacon Attack goes horribly wrong!"

The smile disappeared from her face. "Your acting like you have a choice in the matter."

"What do you mean?"

"Allow me to put it to you like this. If you do not join up with me, I can't guarantee your dear sister or her friend will be alive too much longer."

It took a second for Daniel to process what she had just said.

"Amy and Lily?"

"That would be correct."

He began to advance on her. "If you even touch them, I will-" The sudden lighting of a fire drove him to a halt.

"The Fall Maiden powers? Well then what happened to-" The realisation hit him. "You killed her didn't you?"

The smirk told him everything he needed to know.

"Okay, I see how it is."

Mercury and Emerald drew out big briefcases, and opened them, revealing a lot of money.

"You will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts."

He looked at her, and looked at the money. He didn't want to do it, but he didn't have a choice.

"Fine then. We'll join your little crusade."

The fire was put out.

Daniel looked towards Roman, Neo and Lucy, and mouthed "Sorry" at them.

Cinder held out her hand. He grasped it firmly, hoping to break a few bones. No such luck though, and they shook on it.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Present day: **

"Danny, it's almost time for you to go." Lucy jutted her thumb towards the clock on the wall. It was 5:15. He was supposed to be at Eat your heart out for 5:30. He had prepared a long list of things in his mind that he was going to say.

"You sure you don't want to come?"

"There your friends and family, not mine."

He grabbed the keys. "Alright, see you later."

"Later."

He opened the door and left.

Lucy continued to look through her scroll, until a few news articles caught her attention.

_Is Magnus still alive? _

_Reports of a new crime group terrorising Vale. Potentially linked to Magnus? _

And then…

_We interrupt your usual programming for breaking news. _

She turned to the TV.

_There has been reports of a brand new crime group working in Vale. As you may know, over 5 years ago, criminal lord Magnus' body was found outside of his base of operation. However, people are reporting that this new crime group bears a very similar symbol to his. _

Two symbols appeared on the screen. The one to the left, Lucy recognised immediately. It was the very symbol she had to wear when she was working for him. Two shotguns side to side with the words MG beneath. The second one was exactly the same, except the shotguns were crossed over and the words read GG.

_It is has been reported that they are lead by… _

Lucy held her breath.

_Gale RiverDraft. _

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"Do you think he'll show up?" Amy and Lily were both already sitting inside.

"I… don't know." Amy said. "How long should we give him?"

"It's 5:28 right now. If he's not here by… let's say 5:45, we'll leave."

Lily was fidgeting with her gloves. She had said so many prayers in hope that he would appear.

"I really hope he does come…"

Amy reached over and patted Lily's arm. "Me too. Although I do wonder if he could just walk into a place like this. He is a criminal after all…"

Lily hadn't thought of that somehow. That was a problem.

They were in a public place, sure, it wasn't exactly packed, but there were enough people that he might be recognised.

Suddenly, they heard the door open and close. There he was. He looked around him, before noticing where they were sitting and slowly walked over.

"You are exactly one minute late."

"Well, isn't that a disaster?"

He sat down, and eyed up the glass that was filled with some kind of juice.

"What is this?" He picked up the glass.

"It's strawberry juice. It's what they gave us." Amy lifted up the big glass that was full of it for refills.

"It's pink."

"And?"

"Men do not consume pink beverages."

"Shut up."

"No, I'm serious. We don't." He looked at it. "Although I suppose a little taste couldn't hurt…" He downed it in one drink. He sat it down again.

"Weren't the glasses bigger when we used to come here?"

"I dunno. Were they?"

"I'm pretty sure they were."

A waitress came round with some menus. She didn't even look at them as she put the menus down, didn't even raise a eyebrow at Daniel, a convicted criminal, sitting in.

He flicked through the menu. "Do they not do the barbecued chicken anymore?"

"No, I don't think so. How long has it been since you've been here?" Amy asked.

"I went here once with Lucy, Neo and Roman…" He said. "Neo just got a big tub of ice cream. That was it, nothing else. I swear, she's obsessed with that stuff."

"So, um, how have you been?" Lily asked.

"Hmm, fine. Mostly."

"What is it like… being a criminal?"

"It's fine. Haven't killed anyone, so that's a good thing. Actually wait, that's a lie, I did kill one person. But he was a douchebag, so I didn't feel that bad."

They all fell silent for a moment.

"This is really awkward." Amy said. "Knowing that just a couple of days ago, we were fighting you and Lucy. Speaking of which, tell her I'm sorry for um, kicking her?"

"I'll be sure to do that."

"How did-"

"May I take your orders please?"

Once they had ordered, Amy spoke again.

"How did you and Lucy meet anyway?"

Daniel sighed. "That… is a very long and tragic story. I'm not sure she would be happy with me telling you that."

"But you don't need to tell her that you told us." Amy pointed out.

"I know, but I think it would be better if I saved that for another time. If she's comfortable with it, maybe she'll tell you herself."

Amy and Lily were both still curious, but they dropped the subject.

"So, what's it like being teachers?"

"I like it." Amy said. "That's something."

"It's hard." Lily said. "Especially when you don't know what to say."

"It's a lot of pressure though, knowing what we say could very well change a students life."Amy continued.

"Well-"

"Here are your orders." A waiter carried them out. Once again, didn't even pay attention to Daniel.

"Why aren't people saying anything about the fact that we're basically eating with a very dangerous wanted person?" Amy said.

"Not very dangerous. Slightly dangerous. And honestly? I think people have just come to terms with the fact that the police can't stop us."

"Oh, a bit cocky are we?"

"Seriously. Me and Lucy have stomped out the police so many times, it's practically a hobby at this point."

"Well, they haven't been able to capture you once, so I'll give you a pat on the back for that." Lily said, slapping him on the back.

"Thank you."

Amy twirled her noodles around her fork. "What about Roman and Neo? What are they like?"

"They're… interesting to say the least."

"Please, do elaborate."

"Well, I've already mentioned Neo's ice cream obsession-"

"How much of a obsession are we talking about here?" Lily asked.

"Think about Nicole and her guitar."

"Oh."

They all fell quiet again, eating their food.

"Daniel, was Nicole dying the reason you left Beacon?"

He stayed quiet for a moment. "That was the big tipping point. But it's more than just that. I'm sure your both aware I didn't want to be a huntsmen."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Amy asked quietly. "We could've helped you."

He shrugged. "Because it would have ruined everything. Whether I didn't want to go or not, Beacon was great. I enjoyed myself."

"Even despite all the tests and homework?"

Daniel nodded. "We always did really well in tests anyway."

"Well, more you guys than me." Amy said. "Remember how I basically cheated my way in? You do Lily, right?"

She laughed quietly. "Yeah… I still feel bad about that sometimes, the way I treated you."

"All great relationships have to start from somewhere."

"I suppose…"

"Anyway, so what are we going to do now?" Amy asked Daniel. "I know you aren't going to want to come back to Beacon…"

"Yeah, cause they would definitely let me in."

"But, should we do this like, more often? Say once a week or something? You could bring Lucy along sometime!"

"As great as that sounds…" Daniel lowered his head. "I'm not sure it would work."

"Why not?" Lily asked.

He sighed. "Look, I know it's hard to understand, but I'm a criminal now. Things change. I can't-"

Amy put a hand on his shoulder. "You are not a criminal Daniel."

"But I-"

"Okay, so maybe you've stolen a few things. But criminals are supposed to take things away. But you, you have given people so much. You gave me a chance at Beacon when the professors were considering expelling me. You helped Nicole through her family problems. You helped your own sister so many times, I can't even count. And I may not know how you and Lucy met, but I can bet you probably saved her life or something."

It was funny, because it was true.

"So I'm not a criminal. Wonderful. Doesn't change the fact that I am essentially working for a power-hungry brat."

"Why? Who are you working for?" Amy asked.

"Her name is Cinder Fall. She's the Fall Maiden. Probably killed the previous one. Her goal is to destroy Beacon."

"What?! Why are you working with her then?" Lily's voice had begun to rise in volume.

"Shh! Calm down! I'm working with her because she told me that if I didn't, she would come after both of you."

Both Amy and Lily were stunned into silence.

"That's right."

"Well, work with us then! I'm sure if we work together, we can-" Lily was abruptly cut off.

"It's not that simple. Tomorrow, she, and her two associates, Mercury and Emerald, are going to walk into Beacon, posing as students. That's how they're going to destroy the school. From the inside."

"So, can't we just confront her and take her out then?"

"Amy, she is the Fall Maiden! What don't you get about that? And do you really think the school is going to let you walk into a dormitory and beat on a bunch of kids?!"

"I guess…"

"Right, I want you two to listen in carefully." They both leaned forward. "Me, Roman, Lucy and Neo have decided that Cinder needs to die. We're going to kill her. If you two want to help, you need to keep your mouths shut. Do not tell your students. Do not tell Ozpin. If this goes to him, Cinder will know someone has turned their back on her. Let me know if there doing anything in class, anything at all, anything weird. Neo is also going to be there, so I'll let her know that if she has any problems, and can't get in touch with me or Roman, to come to one of you two. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. Now with that out of the way…" He pushed his finished plate away. "I think it's time we wrap this up." He stood up. Amy and Lily did too.

They all walked out of the restaurant, and all of a sudden, Daniel spotted Mercury and Emerald across the street. They were heading to Tukson's book trade.

"So, Daniel, it was great to-"

"What are they doing?"

"Wait, who is what doing?"

"Look over there, that's Mercury and Emerald."

"What?!"

Mercury and Emerald both entered the shop.

"Amy, Lily, I think their going to kill Tukson."

"What, why?"

"I don't know. Roman was tasked with getting rid of Tukson, but I didn't think…"

Daniel knew Tukson hadn't really done anything wrong. He didn't deserve to die.

"You two need to get in there and stop them!"

"What about-"

"I can hardly come in! If I do, Mercury and Emerald will know something is up. If you two want to stop a innocent man from being murdered, you should go. Show me what all those missions have taught you." He smiled a bit.

"I'll be around here somewhere. And be careful, they may be kids, but they're tougher than they look."

They both nodded and began to run over to the book store.

Daniel couldn't wait to see Mercury's smirk be wiped right off his face.

Then all of a sudden, the lights dimmed. Now he couldn't see in.

_Well, that's no fun now, is it? _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Do you know who we are?"

"Yes."

"Do you know why we are here?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to fight-"

Suddenly, the door opened and Amy and Lily both entered. Amy was whistling.

"Hello Tukson!"

"Oh, hello." He looked very relieved.

"Gee, why are all the lights off? Pretty suspicious if you ask me."

Lily turned them back on. "Very suspicious."

Amy looked at Mercury and Emerald. "You kids aren't up to something, are you?"

"N-No. Of course not!" Emerald stammered.

"Well, care to explain why the lights were off then?"

"It was um…"

"It was um? What does um mean?"

Lily was standing in front of the door.

"Tukson, why don't you explain what was going on?"

"Well, I was just business as usual, but then these two came in all swagger, and start asking me if I know who they were, and why they were here, and if I was going to fight back!" Tukson was smiling now.

"Ohh, that sounds like definite "I'm about to murder you" material to me. But look at you both! You've probably never even hurt a fly!"

Mercury was grimacing now. They were both looking rather panicked.

"What are you both so scared about? I'm not going to hurt you! Not unless you give me a reason to, of course!"

She began to advance on them. "Now, how about I-"

And then they were gone. Just like that, boom. Not there anymore.

"Huh, where did they-"

Lily was looking extremely confused, and so was Tukson.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel watched as both Mercury and Emerald came out of the shop. Emerald had her hand on her head, and Mercury seemed to be supporting her.

Then, he slapped a hand to his own head.

_Her semblance! I forgot to tell them! _

Of all the things he could have forgotten about, that was the worst one.

Now they were going to get away, and he couldn't go after them because that would arise suspicions.

_Great. Job well done to me. _

They were gone not long after. Amy and Lily came out a second later, and Amy was holding a book. Seeing him, they both walked back over.

"They just-"

"I forgot to tell you about Emerald's semblance."

"Oh, great, let me guess, teleportation?" Amy suggested.

"No, she can make people see things that aren't really there. Messing with your mind. So, what probably happened was that she messed with all your minds, making you think they had just disappeared."

"If only you had told us that…"

"I'm sorry. Anyway, I should probably head back now."

"Okay. Us too."

They were both looking at him longingly. Daniel knew what was coming, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He sighed and held out his arms wide.

"Go on then."

He was grabbed in a fierce hug by Amy, and this time, he returned it.

"It was so good to talk to you again." She let go and Lily embraced him too.

It felt good. Really good. Daniel had never felt better.

Once she had let go, they looked at each other, before he waved a hand at them.

"Bye."

"See you later Danny Boy."

_Danny Boy… _

Good grief, that name. It used to annoy him, but now…

Well, now he loved it.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

***Commence Aww noises* **

**I'm sure lots of you are very happy that Tukson is alive. I can't guarantee he'll play a big role, but it's still nice. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	14. Lost

**Chapter 14: Lost**

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"So, what your telling me, is that Alan hasn't been in the school?" Amy asked. She was talking to team BDAS, or at this point, they were only BDS.

"No, he hasn't been in for ages now. I hope he's okay…" Bethany said. None of them saw Damion's eye roll.

"Let's just hope he hasn't left the school completely…" Samantha said.

Then, all of a sudden Glynda Goodwitch came round the corner.

_Huh, I haven't talked to her in ages, have I? _

To be fair, Amy and Glynda hadn't got on particularly well. Due to obvious reasons…

Glynda didn't even look at her when she walked past, but Amy spared a quick glance. No reaction. Just a cold, hard stare.

_Ah yes. Good old Goodiewitch _

She hadn't dared called her that ever again though.

"I highly doubt he would have left the school completely." Bethany had her hand on her forehead, massaging it gently. "I wonder where he could be…"

"He's a big boy now. He can look after himself." Damion said. "If he wants to leave, let him leave I say."

"Would you stop that?" Samantha hissed.

"Stop what?" He feigned innocent curiosity.

"That! He's our teammate, shouldn't we be-"

"Shouldn't we be what? Looking for him? Well, it'd be very hard to find him in that city. It's a waste of time looking for him. If he wants to come back, he'll come back. If he doesn't, he doesn't. We can't do anything about it."

"Well, to be fair, Damion has a point." Amy said. "I'm sure he had his reasons for walking away back at the docks."

"Yeah, but if he doesn't come back, what will we do? That would mean we're a person down! What about the Vytal Festival? We'll be at a massive disadvantage." Bethany said.

"It's not impossible to win the Vytal Festival with only 3 people. It happened once when I was at Beacon."

"Really?"

"Yep. They were called… I think it was team SLVR (silver) or something like that? One of them got seriously injured, and the others decided to compete without him. That year was the year we made it to the finals, but ended up losing."

"Did you guys ever win the Vytal Festival?"

"Once. In our first year. That was one of the greatest moments in my life. I still remember it to this day…"

It had been even better, because she had been the last one to fight in the finals. She had essentially got them the victory. Why couldn't she just go back to those times? If time travel was ever invented, she was signing up, immediately.

"So, I bet your all really excited for sparring class!" Amy cheerfully exclaimed as they drew closer to the door that lead to the sparring hall.

"I actually enjoy it. When I'm not flat on my face of course." Damion said.

Samantha smirked a bit. "I especially enjoy it when your flat on your face."

"Hey! How could you? Your supposed to have my back!"

"Oh, don't you worry." She put her arm around him and grinned. "I'll be sure to ask Amy if I can have a match against you." Damion groaned loudly and gave Amy a pleading look.

"Please don't."

Amy simply pushed opened the door. Lily and a few of the students were already there. Amy left them and walked down to Lily.

"First match is Damion versus Samantha." She said.

Lily smiled.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_Gale RiverDraft… _

That name had played in Lucy's head for ages now. Gale. He had been one of Magnus' closest friends. And now he was here. In Vale.

She still hadn't told Daniel about it yet, as she would have hated to spoil his good mood after he had come back from seeing Amy and Lily.

Daniel had quickly hurried back after Emerald and Mercury had nearly killed Tukson. He had actually made it back before the two of them. They were both coming in now. Emerald seemed to be fine now.

"Well, if isn't the thief and the assassin." Roman was there too.

_A pretty poor assassin considering he failed to kill his target… _Daniel thought to himself.

Daniel came up behind the two of them and slipped the address out of Emerald's pocket.

"But luckily for you," They both turned around when they realised he was there. "Maybe I might be able to convince Cinder not to punish you for failing to kill Tukson."

"Wait, what? How do you know that?" Mercury asked.

"Well, I was taking a walk around the city earlier today, and I noticed that he was still alive."

"Gee" Lucy came up behind Daniel. "Cinder is not going to be happy about that."

We weren't even the ones who were supposed to take care of him! You were!" Mercury pointed at Roman.

"Hey, don't pin the blame on me! I've been busy with planning heists! I don't really have time to be dealing with lost librarians."

"She told you too!"

"And sometimes, we have to put certain things aside for the betterment of the overall plan."

"We weren't even told why we had to kill Tukson." Daniel pointed out. "Just another addition to the list of things Cinder doesn't tell us about."

"Clearly she doesn't think your important enough to tell." Mercury said.

"Listen up here you silver haired failure of a assassin." Roman stepped forward. "If it was up to us, we would take you, and your little girlfriend here, and we would-"

"Do what Roman?"

Everyone looked up. Cinder had arrived.

"Um, not kill them?"

"Cinder!" Emerald exclaimed. Lucy rolled her eyes.

Emerald walked right up, arms outstretched, but Cinder walked right past her, not even acknowledging her.

"I thought I made it clear you were to eliminate the runaway."

"We would have, but we were busy with other things."

"Me and Mercury decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat. But-"

"They didn't succeed." Lucy said.

Cinder turned to them.

"We were… seen."

"By who?" Cinders tone had a dangerous edge to it.

"By… Amy Ivankeo and Lily Silva, ma'am."

"WHAT?!" Cinder stormed right over to them. "You do realise what this means, don't you? They are teachers at Beacon! How are we supposed to get in now?"

"Well, to be fair, they didn't actually see us trying to kill Tukson. We were about to, but they came in." Mercury pointed out.

Cinder turned to him. Roman was laughing behind Cinders back, and drew his finger across his throat.

Sensing that Cinder was about to punish them, Daniel stepped in.

"Let's calm down. No one needs to be hurt."

Cinder turned on him, eyes blazing. "Well, what do you suggest we do?"

_End it now… _

All it would take was for him to whip out his sword, and stab her. Done. But she was probably smarter than she seemed. No, he couldn't kill her right now. He had to gather more information about her, about Emerald, about Mercury, about her plans. It was the only way to make this work.

"Who's not to say that Amy and Lily didn't get a clear look at you? I mean, no offence, but your not exactly the most attractive people in the world."

"That's true…" Cinder mused. Both Emerald and Mercury glared at Daniel. He raised his hands innocently.

"Or perhaps you could wear a disguise? I'm sure there's a good clothes shop right down the street from here."

"Perhaps that would be best." Cinder said.

"It would be! Seriously, people aren't that smart. A change of clothes and perhaps a change of hair colour, and your sorted."

"That would appear to be our only option." Cinder glared at the two of them. "Come on then. We're going shopping."

Emerald and Mercury gulped. They both followed her out.

"They're going to look like demented clowns or something when they get back." Roman shook his head. "I pity them. I may want to kill them, but I pity them."

"That doesn't make sense." Lucy said.

"Most things don't." Roman replied.

Daniel felt his scroll vibrate. He pulled it out and saw it was a message from-

_Adam Taurus?! _

How had he got his scroll number? Another mystery that would probably never be solved.

The message read:

_Rally in downtown Vale. Coordinates down below. Be there, or else. _

"Oh, isn't he threatening?" Lucy said, when Daniel lowered his scroll down for her to read it.

"Very threatening. I'm so scared."

"A rally huh?" Roman lit a cigar. "Alright then. Let's just hope no bratty kids show up to stop us. I've got a little something that the White Fang may want to see…"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"And that's the match!" Amy and Lily both clapped as Samantha walked towards Damion. Looking up at the aura projector things, it had been very close. Samantha was in yellow, but she was dangerously close to red, whereas Damion was in red.

"Well done guys." Amy walked over and knelt down next to them. "You both did great."

Samantha helped Damion up, patting his back gently, and they both walked away.

"Okay, so next up, we will have…" She surveyed the students. "Bethany and Pyrrah."

Bethany jolted a little bit. Pyrrah Nikos? The world renowned tournament fighter? She didn't stand a chance!

Pyrrah stood up and began to make her way down. Bethany swallowed nervously, and she followed after her.

She took out Liberty and Honour, and took her spot at the other side. Pyrrah offered her a quick smile and a polite nod.

Bethany was more worried about how she was going to stand any chance in hell of winning. Why Pyrrah hadn't been made the leader of team JNPR was a mystery.

"Okay, get ready!" They both readied themselves.

"Three, two, one…" Amy counted down on her fingers. "Go!"

Pyrrah launched herself at Bethany, starting it off with a few quick slashes to the knee, which were blocked and parried. She then backflipped away immediately, and began opening fire. Bethany parried her shots, before Pyrrah was on her again, forcing her back onto the defensive. She threw her shield at her, and proceeded to run up and grab it again, slamming it down. They both continued to trade equal shots, before Bethany kicked Pyrrah's shield hard, using the momentum to then land behind Pyrrah, and she was able to score a quick slice to the back, before backing up again.

Regaining themselves, they squared up again, before Bethany tried to throw a feint strike, but Pyrrah didn't fall for it. She then faked a overhead kick, but she accidentally kicked too high, giving Pyrrah the opportunity to ram her in the body with her shield, knocking her back. Jumping back up, she dodged Pyrrah's next strike, before trying to strike her again, but her weapon hit off the shield again. Seizing the opportunity, Pyrrah landed a quick succession of blows to her torso, before knocking her back up into the air. She then threw her shield, and it bounced right off Bethany's face, and she fell back down to the ground.

Pyrrah didn't let up, coming at her again, but this time, Bethany dodged all of her strikes, and was able to land a quick blow to her leg, before forcing Pyrrah to back up. She then landed a quick kick to her face, before parrying another of Pyrrah's strikes, and landing another strike to the head. Drawing out her revolver, she fired a few explosive dust shots, before Pyrrah threw her spear at her, bouncing off the hilt of Liberty, and then she was met with a shield bash to the face. They both exchanged another series of blows, before Bethany was able to trap the hilt of her spear, and knock it out of her hand.

She then went for another sword slash, but instead of ducking to the side, Pyrrah stuck out her hand, and her sword almost seemed to change direction completely, getting swung wildly to the side, not at all where she had been intending. At the same time, her spear seemed to magically fly back into her hand.

_What the… _

She didn't have time to dwell on that though, as Pyrrah was back on the offence, forcing her to deflect the oncoming barrage of strikes. On the bright side, she wasn't doing too bad.

"Hey, she's not doing too bad." Damion said. "Considering that Pyrrah has won a fair share of tournaments."

Samantha nodded her agreement. "Did you see how Pyrrah's spear came flying back into her hand? Do you reckon she can like, control metal or something?"

Damion shrugged. "That's the only explanation I could think of."

Pyrrah used her semblance once again to redirect a double sword slash coming her way. Bashing Bethany with her shield again, she once again knocked her up into the air, and jumped up, grabbing her by the back, and driving her back into the ground, hard. Another hard kick to the face finished the job.

The buzzer from the aura monitor signalled the end of the match.

"Well" Amy said. "That was outstanding Pyrrah. Great job. Although, I suppose that was to be expected."

"Yeah! Go Pyrrah!" The rest of team JNPR was clapping along.

"Polarity?" Bethany moaned on the ground to Lily. "That's so unfair!"

"In a way, all semblances are unfair. Why didn't you use yours?"

"I only use mine as a last resort."

"What even is your semblance anyway?"

"I can basically form like, a shield around my body, a very strong one. Only for a limited time though."

"For what it's worth, you did good." Lily was looking at Pyrrah with a expression between respect and spite. Bethany couldn't tell which one. "Go on up then, and join your team." Bethany stood up and rejoined Damion and Samantha.

"So…"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Gale RiverDraft sat in his chair in their base of operations, watching the world go by. He was thinking. Thinking about the next stage of his plan.

How to get Daniel Silva to him. How to extract revenge upon him for what he did to Magnus.

His friend. His mentor. His protector.

He had lost all sense of time since that fateful day. The fateful day where he had watched Daniel shoot Magnus in the face. Out a window.

All to protect that little blue haired brat. Well, she was blonde back then, but that didn't matter now. He had to capture her. That was the only way he could get him to come.

"Your coffee sir." A man with a beard set it down next to him.

"Thank you." He took it with his hands and listened as the door closed behind him. He sipped it.

The nightmares still hadn't left him. The nightmares of that day. It still scarred him. The only way he could find some peace was to kill Daniel. And he would make him watch as he slaughtered the one person he cared about, before killing him too.

It would be sweet. He would find happiness in revenge. And then… well, he'd have to move on. Keep on doing what he was doing now.

He had already deployed spies to their base. They had been able to find it after some weird ice cream coloured girl had been seen going into it. He knew where he was now. And he would wait until Lucy was all alone in there. That's when he would strike. Capture her. Then he would extract his revenge.

The thought of it made him smile.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Oh boy. Bloody Gale RiverDraft. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	15. Rally the troops

**Chapter 15: Rally the troops**

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Daniel, Lucy, Roman and Neo had all arrived at the rally. It was due to start soon, and Faunus had already begun to arrive.

Lucy still hadn't told Daniel about Gale. She was practically bursting to, but just couldn't seem to get the words out of her mouth.

"So, Roman, what was this little thing that you wanted the White Fang to see?"

"Well, I may have lied when I said a little thing… It's quite big actually."

"What is it then?" Daniel asked.

He smirked. "You'll find out."

"Alright then…" A White Fang goon called Roman over, leaving Daniel and Lucy alone.

_Tell him, tell him, tell him… _

"Adam demands that we show up, but he doesn't bother to show up himself. Typical."

_Come on! Just tell him! _

"At least the Lieutenant is here. A actual Faunus. When we come out, there's going to be a lot of booing and shouting, and confusion."

"Daniel, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"It's…"

"It's what? Lucy? Are you okay?"

"Have you been watching the news lately?"

"No, not really, because most of the time it's us on the front headline. Criminals do another bad-"

"Daniel, listen please."

He stopped. "I'm listening."

"Have you heard of the new crime group that had been running around?"

"Yes, I have. Nothing to really worry about though."

"Nothing to really worry about? Nothing to really worry about?! They are lead by Gale RiverDraft!"

He stopped fiddling with his playing cards, and looked at her.

"Your joking."

"I am not. His face was in the news."

Daniel sighed and put his head in his hands. "Lucy…"

Suddenly, the Lieutenant popped his head out.

"It's time." He said gruffly.

Daniel put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll talk about it after, okay?"

She nodded her head. "Okay."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Samantha , chess makes no sense!"

"You just don't understand how to play it properly!"

Team BDS were sitting outside, on a bench which was connected to a table. Damion had bought a chess board. He and Samantha were both playing.

"No, you don't do that idiot! Your supposed to-

Bethany, having given up on understanding the rules a long time ago, was lying down on the grass, not too far away, looking up at the sky. Sighing to herself, she pulled her revolver out of her pocket and began playing with it in her hands.

_I really hope Alan is okay… _

He had been the number one topic on her mind lately. Where was he, why had he walked away, what was he doing right now? The fact that Damion hated him…

Suddenly, a shadow fell over her and a mess of white hair came into her view.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi Amy."

Looking to her left, she saw that Lily was with Damion and Samantha.

"Look at those nerds." Amy sat down next to her. "Playing chess."

"I don't understand it ."

"Join the club."

"I prefer things like, you know role playing games?"

"We used to play stuff like that all the time. Me and my team, on nights before exams, while everyone else was sleeping, would stay up playing board games, video games and eating food. I miss those days. Back when all I had to worry about was getting a passing grade and possibly getting a boyfriend. Not having to worry about my students, how they're feeling, if there okay, stuff like that."

"Your Beacon days sound a lot simpler than mine. Doesn't sound like you had to worry about your partner running off and not coming back."

"No. I had to worry about my partner hating me! That's so much easier!"

"Wait, did your partner-"

"Let's just say." Amy turned and looked at Lily, who was explaining the rules, having played the game before. "Me and Lily didn't like each other very much."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Now if I told you that, I would have to kill you."

"Okay… What about your two other teammates then? What were they like?" Bethany immediately cursed herself when she remembered that one of them was dead.

But Amy didn't seem to mind. "They were interesting to say the least. But they were nice. I cared about them. A lot. It sucks that one of them died, and the other went off on his own."

"What were your team called?"

"We were called team DANL (Daniel)."

"Wait, was that your leaders name? Wouldn't that have went to his head?"

"Surprisingly, no, it didn't. He was a great leader. To this day, I still think it was the right choice choosing him."

"Do you ever… talk to him anymore?"

Amy sucked in a breath. For a moment, she almost considered telling her that he was Daniel Silva. But she decided against it.

"Sometimes. Not much though."

"What's he doing now?"

"He's, um, gardening!"

"Gardening? He went to a combat school for years, yet decided he wanted to do gardening instead?"

"It was a last moment decision. It could have been worse. He could have decided he wanted to travel to Atlas and work for the Schnee Dust Company."

"Don't like them much, do you?"

"Saying I don't like them is a understatement. I absolutely despise them. The fact that they think they can get away with throwing Faunus in dust mines, amongst other things is a complete disgrace. If I ever get the chance, I'm ripping Jacque Schnees fake moustache right off his face. It's also why I mocked Weiss on the very first day."

Bethany laughed. "Yeah, I remember that. That was awesome. Well, kind of. But do you really think it was necessary? No offence, but you didn't really have a right to do that."

Amy sighed. "Looking back at it, your probably right. I didn't really have a right to do that. But I'm not exactly known for thinking things through before I do them. What's done is done. Can't change it now."

Bethany looked at her. "You know, I think quite a lot of people in this school look up to you, Amy."

Amy turned and faced her. "Do you think?"

"Yes. I certainly do. You've got all the characteristics of a great huntress."

"It's certainly nice to know that I'm making a impact on you guys. I wasn't so sure at first, but I love this job. Lily, I'm pretty sure she still has her doubts. She's still not great at talking in front of crowds, and she never has been. I'm just worried with the likes of Cardin around…." She sighed. "Although, I must admit, after walking away from you when you wanted to talk to me, makes me quite surprised that you would look up to me."

"Well, you said you were sorry, and I'm quite the forgiving type, so, it's cool."

"What about Lily? What do you think of her?

"I think Lily is a good teacher in terms of one on one tutoring. She was the one who convinced me to stick out the leader role for a while."

"Yeah. Suppose all I can really do is, well, help her out. She is my best friend after all. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better partner. Or a better team. Or a better bunch of students." She smiled at Bethany.

Bethany smiled back, before looking off to the side. Amy sat up. "Are you still thinking about Alan?"

"Yeah, I can't help but wonder where he is, what he's doing. I honestly think I'm the only one in my team who cares. Damion and Samantha don't mention him, like at all."

"You'll just have to hope for the best. If worst comes to worst and he disappears completely, Beacon could always bring in a new student." Amy shrugged. "It's happened before."

"Hopefully it won't have to happen."

"Hopefully Beth, hopefully."

Amy stood back up. "Now, do you want to go and see if Lily has taught those two how to play or not?"

Bethany stood up as well. "Sure."

They both walked over to where the three of them were sitting.

"Checkmate. I win again." Lily put her hands behind her head.

Amy began to clap. "Well done. You won at a game that you know inside out, and beat two people who haven't a clue what there doing. Great job." She patted Lily on the back.

"I've played this before!" Samantha protested.

"Still beat you though." Lily said.

"She only plays people worse than her so she can feel better about herself." Amy said in a very loud whisper.

"You can't say anything! You do the exact same thing when it comes to video games!"

"Give me one example." Amy crossed her arms.

"Literally playing everything on the lowest difficulty setting."

"Oh no." Damion said. "That's a big no no in the world of video games. Can't be doing that now."

Amy stuck out her tongue. "I'm a big girl now. I can do what I want. Can any of you kids legally walk into a bar and buy a drink? I don't think so. So don't lecture me about what I can and can't do."

"We could illegally walk into a bar and buy a drink. I reckon I could pass for eighteen." Damion gave his best grin. In his brown leather jacket, and no signs of a beard…

"No you could not." Lily said. "I still have to show my ID, and I'm twenty seven!"

"To be fair, you look about twenty one or two. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing." Amy said.

"I guess so."

"Anyway guys" Amy turned back to BDS. "I'm sure you've all heard that your first missions are going to be in a few weeks! I bet your all so excited!"

"It will be nice to get out of the school." Samantha commented.

"Are you two going to be leading any?" Damion asked.

"Don't see why not. All we have to do is make sure you don't die. No big thing." Amy said.

"Depends what mission we might be on." Bethany said. "I know there are a few options…"

"But before the missions, you have the dance to look forward to." Lily pointed out. "So best get looking for a boy to go with. Or a girl." She added, upon Damion's glare.

"What about you two? Please don't tell there's a relationship with Port or something." Bethany said.

"Nah, we're going out with each other. Did I forget to mention we're gay?" Amy winked at Lily.

"No, no we are not!" Lily stammered.

"Course we are. We are going to have a lovely dance, aren't we Lily?"

"Amy, please stop it!"

"You don't realise it, but when we hit the dance floor-"

"AMY!"

Amy broke out laughing. Lily elbowed her, hard.

"I'm joking! I was joking!"

Team BDS began to laugh.

"Have you got any dating advice for us?" Damion sniggered a bit.

"Don't try and date two people at once. My leader did that, and it ended in heartbreak." Amy said.

"Why would he try and date two girls at once?" Bethany asked.

"He didn't want to hurt either of their feelings. But when they found out, oh boy…"

Lily drew her finger across her neck.

"It was not pretty. But aside from that? No pickup lines, no attempts at playing it "cool", no suave moves, just be yourself."

"And if myself is a nervous wreck if I have a crush on a girl?" Damion asked.

"Well then just don't make a fool of yourself." Lily suggested.

"That's easier said than done!"

"It's not really." Amy said.

"For you it's not! Your Amy Ivankeo, you probably had boys fawning over you back in the day!"

Amy laughed. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "If only…"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"I can assure you, they are the key to obtaining what we have fought for, for so long!"

Alan watched as Daniel Silva walked on.

_Not him again… _

It had been easy enough to sneak into the rally, far easier than he had anticipated. As soon as he had saw Blake and Sun going in, he knew he had to follow. They didn't even ask him to prove he was a Faunus.

"Thank you, please hold your applause."

"What's a bunch of humans doing here?"

"Why, I'm glad you asked! We are going in a joint business venture together! Think of it as a partnership. Now, why would the White Fang work with human's you may ask? Well, it's a rather simple reason."

"See, not every human is a Faunus hating machine. Some, like me, want to help you out! It makes your cause a lot easier to achieve. We help you, you help us. It's that simple really. However, I hear your questions. What do we have that's so great? Why do we want to join you? Well, instead of simply telling you, I'm going to show you all something that Roman Torchwick himself-"

There were a few mutters when he said his name.

"-has been able to get his hands on."

Daniel snapped his fingers, and the large White Fang symbol at the back fell down to reveal a Atlesian Paladin. The room broke out into a chorus of cheers at it's reveal.

"See this right here? This is the kind of equipment you will be able to get into to if you join up. Won't crushing the humans be slightly easier with this at your fingertips?"

_How did he get one of those? _Alan wondered to himself, at the exact same time Blake said that to Sun.

"It's pure Atlas tech." He banged Death's Grace off of it. "This is not a easy machine to crack, let me tell you. No pesky Beacon kids are destroying this!"

A sudden horror hit Alan as he realised Daniel was staring right at Blake and Sun.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it would appear that we have two people in this room who are trying to spy on us. Those two right there." He pointed at them.

_Oh, that isn't good. _

All the White Fang members turned to them, and angry shouts could be heard.

"Time to leave!" Sun announced, as the whole room was swamped in blackness.

"Somebody, stop them!"

"Sun, the window!"

"Don't let them get away!"

Daniel didn't even notice Roman, who had been hanging around most of the time, running out in front of him and jumping into the Paladin. He heard the sound of it powering up, and then heard the sound of glass cracking.

He was able to get the lights back on, and noticed that the Paladin was gone.

"What was that?" Lucy came up behind him.

"I think Roman may have went after them. In the Paladin."

"Uh oh. Should we go after him?"

"Well, If our fight at the docks was any indication, those two are going to have backup. So yes, I do think we should go after him."

Alan was hot on there tails already, as he followed behind Blake and Sun.

"Whoa, who are-" Sun cast him a quick glance. Blake did too, and her eyes widened.

"Alan?!"

"Yes, it's me again! Would you happen to have some form of backup? That would be-"

He was forced to roll to the side as a missile nearly hit him in the back. Roman wasn't far behind.

Blake quickly took out her scroll, and sent out a group call.

"Hello, hello? Is there anyone-"

"_Blake, what's happening?" _

"There's a robot! That Silva guy introduced it, but then some other dude with a hat and orange hair took control of it! He's chasing after us now!" Sun shouted

"Could you help us, please?!" Alan yelled.

"_Where are you guys?" _

"Holy-!"

The roof they were heading to was suddenly blown off, and the three of them were forced onto the road.

"Hurry, he's catching up!"

They ran past a certain bar, which happened to have a certain Yang Xiao Long and Neptune sitting outside it, on a motorcycle.

"I think that was them."

"I got it." Yang swivelled Bumblebee around and began to give chase.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Do we strike now sir?" The man asked. "Lucy and Daniel appear to be heading to the motorway, if we can separate them-"

"No." Gale's voice was harsh. "We can not afford to move in now, we need to be one hundred percent sure that we can detain her."

"But sir, we may never get a opportunity like this again!"

"There will be plentiful of opportunities, no doubt, but we need to remain patient. We need to pick the right opportunity, at the right time, in the right place. And this, is not the right time, and definitely not in the right place. This is a high speed chase, gentlemen, not a calm jog. Our men will not be quick enough or skilled enough to get to her."

The men bowed and began to leave the room.

"Sir" One stayed behind. "I hate to be negative, but are you sure we can take Daniel Silva on? He is a former student of Beacon Academy, and a very skilled-"

"Are you doubting me?" Gale rose from his seat.

"No, not at all sir, I just think-"

"Just think what? That I'm not strong enough? That I am underestimating him? That I will not be able to kill him? Please, do not make me laugh. The stars have aligned in my favour. I will be victorious."

"Of course sir."

He also left. Gale walked over and looked out the window.

_This city looks very beautiful at night…_

With all this planning and scheming, he had never got the chance to fully appreciate Vale. It was like a canvas, and a wonderful artist had painted over it.

_That Lucy girl always enjoyed drawing… _

He recalled her sitting in the café that Magnus offered to his men, pencil in hand, drawing away. She had quite the talent for it, and he found himself wondering if she had kept up the hobby.

Not that it would matter, because very soon…

_She will be dead. _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Thanks for reading and have a great day! **


	16. Showdown with the Paladin

**Chapter 16: Showdown with the Paladin **

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

Blake, Alan and Sun all jumped onto the motorway as Roman followed in the Paladin. Daniel and Lucy soon followed behind Roman.

"Hey, Daniel! I heard about this guy that lost his left arm and leg in a car crash, do you think he's all RIGHT now?!"

"Now is really not the time Lucy!" They began to hop over cars, following the Paladin. It was throwing cars everywhere, probably killing a lot of people.

"For a bunch of weak kids, they sure can run." Roman muttered. He continued to follow them. Daniel and Lucy noticed as Yang and Neptune came up beside them.

"We gotta slow this thing down!"

"On it!" Neptune began to take out his weapon. Lucy leapt over a car, and taking out Poison and Venom, switched them into the gun mode and fired at Neptune, forcing him to duck. She then jumped off a car that was already flying in the air, and landed on the very back of Bumblebee.

"Thanks for the ride!" Grabbing Neptune by the back of his jacket, she threw him off. His scream was quite amusing. "Later!"

Yang swivelled right very suddenly, to dodge a car and Lucy was forced to get off. Daniel was up near the front, and he leapt over the top of the Paladin. He was beginning to gain ground on Blake, Alan and Sun, all of whom were trying there very best to not be crushed. He hopped over a few other cars, and threw a explosive playing card at his feet, launching himself high into the air. Coming back down, he was on collision course with Alan.

"Got you!" Alan leapt out of the way, and he missed completely, landing on the car with a solid thud. He eyed up Sun, who was standing on a car. All of a sudden, he put his hands together, and three more of him jumped out of his body. They were a bright yellow colour. They hit the Paladin, but did very little damage to it. Daniel leapt at Sun and punched him in the face, staggering him, before kicking him off the car, and he went flying off the motorway.

Blake and Alan looked more annoyed than worried.

"Blake, I'm in position!"

_Huh? In position for what? _Daniel thought to himself. Then he saw Weiss Schnee jump off and land on the road.

_Weiss Schnee?! Why would she attend- _He didn't get to finish that thought, as she stuck her rapier into the ground, creating a large circle of ice. The Paladin and the cars slipped over it, and both he and Lucy fell off, hitting the ground below hard.

"She's very cold." Lucy said. They both stood up, before the Paladin landed just behind them, and the shockwave made them both fall over again. Roman moved forward, nearly crushing them.

"Oi, be careful with that thing!" Daniel called up. Obviously, Roman didn't hear him.

"Freezerburn!"

"Freezer what now?" Lucy asked out loud, before the whole place was swamped with a thick white fog. The Paladin's tracking system came online, as Roman began to search about the place. Both Daniel and Lucy stayed put. Team RWBY and Alan were rushing around the place. Out of frustration more than anything, Roman fired at a random spot to try and clear the fog. He succeeded, but was also met with Ruby flying towards him. Striking the Paladin, he tried to crush her, but she backed up.

Lucy knocked out Alan out of the air with a gun shot, and leaped up and kicked him, only to be sent flying back by Yang. Lucy hit one of the pillars and then smashed face first into the floor.

"Ow. Goldilocks hits hard." She muttered to herself.

Daniel was duelling with Alan and Blake, while the Paladin went after Ruby, Weiss and Yang. Daniel spun around with his sword in a circle, forcing both of them back. He pressed the attack onto Alan, and steeped his legs out from underneath him. Darting to the side, he dodged Blake coming up behind him, and spun on his right foot, roundhouse kicking her in the jaw, a clean blow which sent her tumbling back, right into Lucy, who kept up the assault, grabbing Blake by the hair, spinning her around and kneeing her square in the stomach. Suddenly, they were all forced back as the Paladin came trampling through. Ruby and Weiss were on it's arms, trying to bring it down, but there efforts were in vain as the two of them were hurled through the air. Bracing himself, Daniel threw Deaths Grace at Ruby, hilt first, and it bounced off, and he leapt up into the air, grabbing it, and took several shots at Weiss with his pistols.

Weiss was blown back when the Paladin shot at her, a much more deadly force than two measly pistols. Alan and Ruby attempted to slice off one of the Paladin's arms, but there coordination and timing was off, as Lucy foiled there team attack attempt, whirlwind kicking Ruby and then pushing off, scoring a dagger slash to the body of Alan. Alan hit the floor, rolled back up, and then all of a sudden, a aura manifestation of a tiger leaped out of his body, and it struck the Paladin a hard hit, growling in the process. Unlike Sun's clones, this thing wasn't going down easily, as whenever Lucy slashed its tail, it simply turned around and forced her back with a few well aimed paw swipes. Roman turned to blast the mutt down, but then Yang ran out and leaped onto the back of the Paladin, pummelling it with shot after shot.

Roman turned it around and threw it backwards, but was unsuccessful in throwing her off. That was until Daniel leapt onto the back of the Paladin and began to brawl with Yang. During this clash…

"Ladybug!"

_What are these team attack names? _Lucy wondered. _FreezerBurn, and now Ladybug? What's next? Bumblebee? _She was currently going toe to toe with Weiss, and despite the glyphs, Lucy was getting the better of the heiress. Catching her by the arm, she pushed Myrtenaster away, and stepping to the side, landed a series of kicks to her legs and face, before throwing her over her shoulder and slashing her in the body.

Daniel and Yang had surprisingly managed to not fall off, as fist met sword over and over. Daniel was able to gain the upper hand when he redirected her punch to the side, and kicked her into one of the pillars. Seizing the opportunity, Roman turned the Paladin around and smashed her through the pillar, sending rubble flying everywhere.

"She's certainly not getting up anytime soon." Lucy said to Daniel when he landed next to her. "That was certainly a smashing time! Get it, cause she was smash-"

"That isn't funny. Also, she appears to be standing back up. And there goes Roman… Oh, that's not good."

He was referring to the fact that Yang had just blocked the punch from the Paladin easily. She then proceeded to blow the arm off with her own punch.

"That's… definitely not good." Roman kicked her, and she was sent flying back.

"Bumblebee!"

"Bumblebee?"

"I called it!"

Blake threw her ribbon out, and Yang caught it, spinning her around and around, knocking the Paladin, Daniel and Lucy back.

"Ice Flower!"

_They've certainly been training… _Alan thought to himself. _Maybe I could… _

No, he couldn't do that with his team, because they were incompetent. Bethany was a absolute terrible excuse of a leader, Damion was a bumbling fool, and what had Samantha done? Practically nothing. But Team RWBY were operating like a well oiled machine. He was almost jealous. They were so fluid in their motions.

Yang was hurled at the Paladin, ready to blow it to bits.

"Oh no you don't!"

Daniel jumped up and held out his sword, and Yang punched him so hard, he would be lucky if his rib cage was still intact. He hit the body of the Paladin, and crumpled to the floor.

"Daniel!" Lucy held out her hand. Roman was still struggling to free the Paladin of it's icy prison.

Daniel struggled back to his feet. _Okay, so she hits like a truck… _

She certainly did, because she then knocked over the Paladin with another punch, breaking it open. Roman rolled out like he had just been in a little car accident.

"Just got this thing cleaned." He grumbled. Lucy rejoined the two of them.

"I think it's time we pull the disappearing act." She hissed.

Yang fired a shotgun pellet at them, but it was easily deflected by Daniel.

"As lovely as it was to meet all of you, although I have seen you before," He motioned to Alan. "I think it's time we should be going."

"Your not going anywhere." Alan stepped forward.

"Are we not? Look, a distraction!" He pointed towards the left. They didn't fall for it. He whipped out a playing card.

"Do you really think we're going to fall for-" Yang began to say, before both Daniel and Lucy threw double playing cards at them. One explosive, one smoke. A perfect combination. The resulting explosion gave the three criminals the time they needed to slip away onto the bullhead that had just landed. They were gone within seconds.

"That was certainly something." Yang said. "Also, how did you do the tiger thing?"

"That's my semblance. I can form aura manifestations of any animal I want. I can move with them, attack with them, it's almost as if there real."

"Oh cool! Can you ride them?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, I can."

"Where have you been since the docks?" Blake asked.

"About that…"

"I haven't been talking to the members of your team, but I'm sure they were worried sick!"

"You've got a wicked team name though." Yang said.

"It's a bit complicated. I'd rather not talk about that."

"Are you coming back to Beacon then?" Weiss asked.

"Of course I am." He hoped they wouldn't push the question of where he had been.

"Oh, okay then! Come on, let's head back!" Ruby began walking away.

"Do you reckon we'll get into trouble?" Blake asked Yang.

"Nah, we'll be fine!" The two of them began to walk away too. Alan was left staring at the spot the bullhead had just been in. Shaking his head, he followed after team RWBY.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"That could've gone better…" Roman took a seat.

"You don't say." Lucy replied.

"Man, that blonde girl hits hard." Daniel also sat down.

"That's the first time I've seen little Red's teammates, and Beacon really needs to teach a class in fashion, because they all looked like they wandered straight out of a bad Saturday morning cartoon." Romans' scroll began to ring. It was Cinder.

"Hello?" He stood back up and walked off.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked Lucy.

"I'm not the one who got punched by a flaming angry blonde. Are you okay?"

"I'll survive. My good looks are still intact, so it's all fine."

"Right, that's good. That was one overpowered semblance. Kinda makes me jealous…"

Lucy still hadn't unlocked her semblance, and Daniel knew that really annoyed her. He recalled long sessions where she asked him for help figure out what it could be, and it would often end in her raging and breaking something.

"Lucy, I honestly think your semblance is linked to your ability to draw. And since your passion of art has kinda, well, faded over these past few years, maybe that's why it hasn't unlocked."

"So your saying I should draw more? Very helpful."

"It's just a suggestion."

Lucy sighed.

"So, about this Gale situation…" Daniel started.

"What about it? There's nothing really to say about it. He's here, in Vale. He was one of Magnus' closest associates, closest friends." She curled her hand into a fist. "We should have killed him too that night."

"Lucy, we didn't know where Gale was. He could've left already. We had no way of knowing."

"We should've went after him, hunted him down, not let him wander this world after what his boss did to me!"

"Woah, Lucy, calm down! Look at your hand!"

She had been squeezing it so hard that her nails had dug into her skin, and a thin trickle of blood had formed from a cut. Her aura healed it up almost instantly and she sighed.

"What if he comes after us? What if he comes after you?"

"I'm sure he's probably caught up with trying to stay hidden and the like. Not to mention, he has no clue where we are. We'll be fine. And even if he does manage to track us down, I'm sure a few thugs will be no problem for us."

"How can you be so sure? How do we know he hasn't gotten stronger, how do we know he hasn't hired some top notch assassin, how do we know that someone like Roman or Neo isn't secretly spying for him?"

"Lucy! Roman or Neo would never do that!"

"How do you know? You don't, do you?"

"Okay, why don't you just kill them then, and have Cinder come down on our heads? We have known Roman and Neo for years, we've trusted them! If you really think they would throw us away just to earn some quick money off of Gale, then your wrong."

"I… Yeah, your right. Sorry, I just… I just can't believe he's here. Expect me to be really paranoid over these next few weeks."

Roman walked back in. "She was just asking how the rally was, told her we had to bust out the Paladin, then she got annoyed and started yelling, and that was about it."

He looked at the two of them. "Why do you look so morbid?"

"Oh, us? We're fine."

"Oh, alright then. Another thing, we need to now convince the White Fang that setting up a base at Mountain Glenn is a good idea. That's where we're heading next."

"And what exactly are we doing there?" Daniel asked.

"We're loading up a train full of dust, running it straight into the middle of Vale, boom."

"And this will accomplish what exactly?"

Roman threw his hands up in the air. "Don't have a clue. She didn't tell me that. Oh, she also mentioned that there first day at Beacon was today. Apparently those disguises you suggested have worked wonders."

"What do they look like? I need to know." Lucy said.

Roman shrugged. "Didn't get a picture. Just confirmation there in Beacon now. Although I will take a guess and say they look pretty stupid."

Daniel grinned. "That would be a fair assumption to make."

"You have there scroll numbers, right?"

"Yeah?"

"So let's all pester, oh, what's this I see?" All of there scrolls beeped at the same time. They had all received a message from Neo. She had taken a picture of Emerald and Mercury, dressed in there Beacon uniform when they weren't looking. An uproar of laughter started from all three of them.

"Look at them, look at them, good grief!" Emerald's once green hair had now been dyed a bright red colour. They weren't even laughing at her. Mercury though…

"He dyed his hair purple! HE DYED HIS HAIR PURPLE!" Lucy tripped and fell over. It was the most unbelievably funny thing ever. He looked so stupid, it was a wonder Professor Ozpin hasn't died from asphyxiation, due to laughing so hard.

"Oh, I've dyed my hair some pretty odd colours for disguises, but purple? PURPLE?!" Roman had to sit down.

Daniel was able to get a hold of himself and decided it would be a great idea to let Amy and Lily know who was walking into their class. He forwarded the message to both of them, with the message of, _Watch these people, their sense of fashion is so bad that I'm worried. _

Leaving Lucy and Roman to continue choking on air, he got a reply almost immediately from Amy.

_XD That's hilarious! _

_An acronym? Kill it, quick! _

_Why don't I send you emojis too? _

_We aren't teenagers anymore, emojis are a thing of the past. _

_Oh really? ;-;_

_Yes, really. You aren't a child anymore. _

_:) _

_Stop. _

_;) Come on Dan, where did your sense of humour go? _

_It's still there, but emojis are not funny. _

_Oh all right then old man. So are these the guys I should be watching? _

_You would be correct. _

_Oh, look at you all formal. What are you even doing right now? Chatting with your girlfriend Lucy? _

_She's not my girlfriend. _

_Sure. _

He looked back towards her. She and Roman had calmed down and were conversing with each other.

_Are you sure she's not your girlfriend? Partners in crime and all that. Usually has some romantic undertones. _

_Yes Amy, I'm sure. So, what are you doing right now? _

_Just sitting in my dorm room. Lily's teaching a class at the moment. _

_What does she even teach? _

_Aura training. I teach Grimm studies, and then we both take sparring. _

_Oh, right. That's… cool. _

_Are you coming along this Friday? We can meet at Eat Your Heart Out like last week, and then go around a couple places. And before you pull the "I'm a criminal and can't be seen in public places" card, anybody dares even mention the fact you're a wanted man, they'll have me to deal with. It'll be great. Bring Lucy along, I'd like to meet her. _

_I'll be sure to do that. _

_Okay, I'll be going now then. See you soon. _

_Later. _

He put his scroll away and turning around, noticed that Lucy and Roman were getting off the bullhead. He got off and walked back into the warehouse.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	17. Two faced

**Chapter 17: Two faced **

**Have a long chapter today, cause I was feeling really nice. **

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Do you five understand the severity of your actions today?! People died on that motorway!" Glynda Goodwitch was fuming. "You took on three of the most dangerous criminals in Remnant and-"

"Yeah, and we totally destroyed them!"

"Do not interrupt me Miss Xiao Long!" Yang sunk back down into her seat. "For your own sakes, I sincerely hope that you have a good explanation."

"They are out there, holding rallies, hurting people, and no one is doing anything about it!" Blake rose out of her chair.

"Miss Belladonna, sit down."

"Do you really-"

"Now!" The severity of the women's voice made them all shut up.

"What could you possibly think you could accomplish? Lock them up? Become heroes? They are some of the most dangerous people on this planet, and there's a reason why they have evaded the authorities for so long! If the most skilled huntsmen can't stop them, then what chance do you think you have? None at all! I don't know what was going through your heads when you decided on this, but clearly, it was complete and utter foolishness. Luckily, the public has already drawn the conclusion that the deaths were entirely on the head of Roman Torchwick, Daniel Silva, Lucy Locke, and the White Fang. Do not think you won't be punished severely for this. Team RWBY, you will be seeing me in detention for three weeks. No excuses. You are dismissed. Mr O Malloy, stay behind for a second."

Team RWBY left, heads hung low. Alan remained seated.

"Where have you been these past few weeks? We have received notice that you have not showed up to any class." Alan remained silent. "And you have not been on the school premises, so Team RWBY could not have possibly roped you into this."

Alan didn't speak, didn't even raise his head. The silence in the room was deafening.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything? Aren't you going to try and defend yourself?"

"I simply did what had to be done, Miss."

"Endangering lives?! Is that what you consider necessary? How did you know that rally was going to happen? How did you know about any of this? Explain yourself."

He stayed quiet. Glynda pushed her glasses up. "Very well then. If you aren't going to explain it to me, perhaps you will explain it to your leader." She turned to the door. "Miss Brennan, you may enter now." There were murmurs from the other side, before Bethany walked in. Alan looked up at her.

"Apologies for calling you and your team here on such a short notice."

"It's not a problem, Miss Goodwitch." Glynda turned back to Alan, and motioned to Bethany. "Well?"

Silence once again.

"Alan?" Bethany took a step towards him. "Are you okay?" He continued to not talk. Glynda simply observed the two of them. Bethany made to put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me." She drew it away.

"Aren't you going to tell me anything?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you." She took a step back, and sighed. Glynda stood up.

"Not even to your own leader? Who was worried about you? Who cares about you?"

"Huh. She sure has a funny way of showing it."

"Alan, I… I saved you at initiation. I was worried when you ran to the docks, I was worried when you disappeared. How can you just-"

"How can I just what?" There was a cold look in his eyes.

"How can you just throw me away like that?"

"Because your a terrible leader, that's why."

"W-What?"

"Mr O Malloy-"

"I saw team RWBY during that fight. They were operating like a well oiled machine, they had preplanned battle strategies, they had team attacks. They knew what they were doing. You don't get like that in a day. It requires time and effort, you need to practice. What have you done since the start of the year? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We haven't started doing anything like that yet!"

"I didn't want to be team leader. You know that."

"Well, your weak then. If I had of been made leader, it would have all been fine. But no. I'm done with this conversation." He walked right past the two women and out the door.

"Hey, Alan, wait!"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Hey, Amy." Lily tapped her on the arm. They were standing outside Glynda's office, waiting for Alan to come out. Damion and Samantha were there too. As soon as they had heard that Alan had reappeared, all of them had came over.

Alan had walked out now, and gave them all a disdainful look. He turned to walk away.

"Woah, woah." Damion stepped in front of him. "I don't know where you think your going. Not after what happened."

"I'm not explaining myself to any of you. Especially to you two." He pointed to Amy and Lily.

"Us? What have we ever done? Alan, let it go. Is this still about what I did to Cardin? Look, I realised that was wrong, okay? Stop being a child, stop holding a grudge, and explain to your teammates what happened. If you want us to leave, that's okay." Amy folded her arms.

Alan snorted. "I'm being a child?"

"Well, unless you want me to call you some very uncolourful things, then yes, you are acting like a child."

"Alan, if I recall correctly," Samantha said. "You got your backside kicked by Daniel and Lucy at the docks. What possibly made you think you could take them on again?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm able to take them on or not! What matters is that someone needs to stop them!"

"And that can't be you Alan!" Damion jabbed a finger at his chest. "It's up to people like Amy and Lily to stop them, not us! We are kids! We don't really know anything!"

"They are criminal scum! I will not allow them to-"

"Criminal scum? Roman, maybe, but Daniel? I don't think so."

Everyone turned and looked at Lily.

_Darn, why would I say that? _

No going back now though. "You don't think so?" Alan asked. "Why not?"

"Well, I haven't heard any reports of him or Lucy, you know, killing anyone."

"So you think that excuses them from everything they've done? I'm sure they have killed a multitude of people."

"No, Daniel wouldn't that…" She was digging herself in deeper and deeper, but she couldn't help herself. When the person being insulted was your family, sometimes your love of them overpowered common sense.

"You say that like you know him."

"Well, I do. Wait, no, no, I don't. Who is he anyway? Never heard of him."

"So you do know him."

"Maybe?"

"So, outside of this school, you are in contact with a repulsive, vile, inhuman man."

"He is not vile, he is not repulsive, and he is not inhuman!" Amy was desperately waving her arms about in a "Stop" gesture, but Lily didn't see her.

"You are defending him. You are defending a criminal who should be locked up and shot."

"He is not a criminal! Criminals are supposed to take things away, but he has given me so much! You don't know what he's been through! I do!"

"And what has he been through?"

"That's none of your business."

"Lily, Alan, stop-"

"Do you know him too?" Alan turned to Amy. "Do you know that thief, that liar, that-"

"Stop calling him that!" Lily turned Alan around to face her.

"Why are you defending him?"

"Because he's my brother!"

A heavy silence fell over the room. Amy put her head in her hands. Bethany, Damion and Samantha all took a step back, eyes wide. But Alan didn't move a inch, didn't even raise a eyebrow.

"I couldn't care whether he's your brother, your boyfriend, or your best friend. What matters most is that your brother is a disgusting man."

All of a sudden, Lily grabbed him by the throat and hurled him against the wall. She raced up to him and punched him, square in the head. He fell over, and soon, NightSlayer was up against his throat.

"Call him vile, call him disgusting, call him repulsive again, and see what happens."

Their eyes locked for a moment, bright red on blue, and Amy then had Lily by the arm, and was hauling her away.

"Lily, calm down!"

Lily didn't even fight against Amy, just continued staring at Alan. Damion was staring at the door, praying to every god above that Glynda wouldn't come out.

Seemingly realising what she had just done, Lily broke free from Amy's grip and stormed off down the hall. Alan stood back up slowly, looking after her.

"Why is she here?" He muttered.

"Amy, what was that about?" Samantha asked. Amy looked at them all and sighed.

"I think we should tell Glynda what happened." It was a wonder she hadn't come out during the commotion.

"No, wait!" Amy put her hands out. "Just… come on down to my class and hear me out, okay?"

Team BDAS all looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Please, guys?"

"Alright then."

Amy smiled a bit. "Thanks."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Mr big and scary, I promise you, this will work." Daniel was facing the Lieutenant. He had just outlined Cinder's plan.

"And why would this be a good idea?"

"Uhh…" Daniel didn't actually know what to say. He saw no benefit in this plan whatsoever. Cinder hadn't explained why this would help them, all she had said was "do this". She hadn't explained anything.

_Surprise, surprise. _

"Uh, Cinder said it was a good idea?" Lucy said.

"You say that every time you come to us with a plan, and we ask how it would work."

"Well, the deal is this." Daniel put his hands on the table and leaned forward. "Either we go forward with this, or Cinder burns us all alive. Trust me, I'm not the biggest fan of it either, but we don't have much of a choice in the matter. I'm not asking you to do this, I'm telling you that you have to."

The Lieutenant nodded his head. "Very well then. If that is what she wants, we should carry through with it."

"Great! That should conclude everything then." Daniel straightened himself up. "A pleasure talking to you, as always."

The Lieutenant didn't return the gesture, and simply watched the two of them as they left.

"I was expecting a lot more resistance." Daniel commented. "A lot more "Uh, it's not going to work, tell Cinder it won't work. Uh, we're not doing that, Faunus will get hurt."

"Well , they know by now you shouldn't cross Cinder."

"Except we are going to cross Cinder, because we are going to kill her."

"That would be the theory, yes."

They continued to walk on down the road. Daniel couldn't help but notice the way Lucy was looking about the place, like she was expecting a attack from someone. She almost looked younger, the way her head was flicking about the place, her bright blue hair hanging down over her face.

_Should I try and track Gale down? _

It was something he had been mulling over. He hated seeing her like this, so perhaps it was best to find him before he found them.

_Where would he be though? _That was the difficult bit, Vale was a big place. He could be anywhere. And he was already caught up in Cinder's business…

Suddenly, Lucy lurched to the side, and he almost tripped over her. "Hey, careful!" She was looking up at one of the roof tops.

"What is it? Lucy?"

"I… I thought I saw-" Her breathing was coming out in short gasps.

"Thought you saw who?"

"I thought I saw Luna…" Daniel's blood ran cold. Luna was a female assassin who worked under Magnus back when he worked for him. She had been a teenager back then, only about fourteen. She had been similar to Lucy, as in she had been forced to work for Magnus, to become a assassin. He and Lucy had actually been quite good friends with her, but they hadn't seen her since they had left. They had tried to find her, but to no avail.

_I felt so bad for her. She was just a child…_

"Are you sure?"

"There was no mistaking that, that… black and white hair." Lucy took a step back. "If she's here…"

Daniel looked up to the rooftop. "I'm going after her. You can come if you want to." He ran over and began jumping up to the roof.

"Daniel, wait!" For a spilt second, Lucy considered not going after him. Luna was tough, but she wouldn't be able to beat Daniel. Or at least she hoped so. She stared down at her open palms for a second, clenched them into fists and began to follow him.

Daniel hopped up onto the roof, and listened out. He couldn't hear or see anyone. Then, he remembered…

_Her semblance. She can block out all sound that she makes. _It was the perfect semblance for a assassin. Able to mask all noise that you made was extremely helpful, so listening out wouldn't do him any good.

Lucy landed behind him, but he didn't pay her any attention, and simply continued to observe the environment. Up here on the rooftops, there was nowhere really to hide.

_Maybe she's already left. _It was possible. Perhaps after being spotted, she thought it would be best to just book it. _Or maybe Lucy was just seeing things… _

He didn't want to bring that possibility up in front of her, but it was another option. Then, he saw a dark shape look out from behind a chimney.

_Got you. _He whipped out his dual pistols and fired a quick shot. He closed in on the spot he had seen her.

_Showtime. _Luna leapt out from behind the corner, and turned to face them. He was exactly how he had remembered her. That same white and black hair. On the side with the white hair, was normal skin. On the side with the black hair, there was a half mask, a dark black colour with a red slit cut around the eye hole, so she could see out. She was wearing a crop top, exposing her abdomen, which Daniel realised had a long scar along it, which he definitely didn't remember being there. She was also wearing black denim shorts, and a pair of boots which stopped just below the shin. For it being such a cold night, she wasn't covered up very well. She was pretty thin too, like she hadn't eaten much. She was holding her weapon…

_Lunar Eclipse. _

A khopesh with a chain wrapped around it.

_She… she looks awful. _There were bruises and cuts all over her body.

"Luna?" Lucy took a step towards her. "What are you-"

She still looked so small, so vulnerable…

And then she was gone, jumping off the roof.

"Hey, wait! Come back!" Daniel jumped off the roof after her. Lucy followed suit. They began to follow her down the road, calling her name as they sprinted down the road. She turned around a corner and a car nearly ran her over, but she leaped over it.

Desperately looking around, Luna then noticed a clothes shop not too far away. Seeing it as her only real opportunity to get away, she began to make her way towards it, kicking over a bin in a desperate attempt to slow the two of them down. Lucy got a face full of garbage when she accidentally fell into it. Daniel ran around it, and began to follow her into the clothes store.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_I need to get away, I need to get away… _

She… she didn't stand a chance! All on her own too! Was Zane really that confident in her training? Zane had convinced Gale to let her come out on this mission, all by herself. She didn't want this, didn't want to work with him, didn't want to be part of ShiverBane, all she wanted was to grab Daniel and Lucy, ask them where they had been, why hadn't they come for her, to hug them and cry into their shoulders… They had accepted her, they didn't care about the fact that half her face was basically a scarred mess.

But Gale was mercilessly. If she didn't come back with at least one of them tied up, he would come after her too. In his quest to live up Magnus' name, he had become just like him. A cruel monster.

She had already lost her chance to get the jump on them, when Lucy had noticed her. The least she could do now was go back to him, and tell him that she had failed. She couldn't do it, couldn't fight them…

Dashing through the clothes store, she could hear the two of them come in, and continue to follow her. The place was pretty crowded for this time of night, and there were several people hanging around. There were audible shouts of "What are they doing here?" and "Someone grab them!". She then remembered that Daniel and Lucy had probably been in the public eye for quite a long time.

Breathing hard, she turned around and kicked a clothes rack in their general direction. She couldn't see them now, but she had to get away. Maybe the leader of ShiverBane, Zane, would forgive her, but Gale would not. They were working for him now.

_Come on, come on, where are they? Maybe I lost them…_

Running out the back door, back into the street, the cold hit her with it's savage bite. She ran back onto the street, and then into a dark cold alleyway. She forced herself to breath.

_Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale… _

Then, Lucy landed beside her, with a sudden thud.

_Oh no, I didn't lose them! _

Turning around, Daniel was there too.

_No, no, no, this can't be happening! _

"Luna." Daniel's voice was gentle. He didn't sound annoyed, or angry. "Are you working with Gale?"

"_Your task is to track Daniel and Lucy, to learn more about there whereabouts. Do not engage unless necessary. You will be completing this task on your own. This is your chance to prove that you have taken on board everything I have said." _

That's what Zane had said…

_I need to do this, I need to fight them… _

She didn't want to, but she had to. She charged at Lucy, and attempted to take her out with a leg sweep, but failed in doing so, as Lucy stepped back.

"Hey, why are you-" She kicked her in the face, staggering her. Daniel came up behind her, Death's Grace in hand. He swung it down, and Luna backflipped to avoid his strike, and whipped her chain around, attempting to disarm him. He grabbed the chain and pulled her towards him, grabbing her by the arm.

"Woah, woah, calm down! Why are you-" She broke free from his grip, and ducked underneath a shot from Lucy, and spun on her back foot, going for a roundhouse kick, which was quickly blocked by Daniel, and the two of them went toe to toe. Daniel proved to be the better fighter, as he he sent her sprawling to the floor. Standing back up, Luna went for him again, but Lucy intercepted her, and the two duelled with one another, a rapid succession of strikes, counters, and kicks. Luna was able to knock Lucy back temporarily, but was forced to break away as Daniel came down hard with a punch. He fired several shots at her with his pistols, which she blocked.

"Luna, what are you doing? Why are we fighting?! Did Gale send you?"

"I don't work for Gale! Well, I didn't, but I do now!"

"What? Then why are you-"

She whipped the chain around one of his guns, yanking it from his hand. Lucy dashed forward and caught it while it was still in mid air. Throwing it back to Daniel, she sidestepped Luna's attempted roundhouse kick, and wrapped her arms around her body, trapping the smaller girl in place.

"Let go of me!"

"Moon, please calm down!"Luna faltered upon hearing that old nickname that they both used to call her, due to her name literally meaning Moon. That moment of hesitation was all Daniel needed to grab her arm and yank Lunar Eclipse out of her hand. It was a quick and decisive victory. She continued to struggle against Lucy's hold.

"Stop-!"

"LET GO OF ME!" She stopped moving for a second. "Please. Lucy, please."

She was let go. She fell to the floor, and Daniel looked at her weapon, unsure of whether to give it back or not.

"Why are you working with him?"

"I didn't have a choice! The leader of ShiverBane signed a deal with him. He-"

"ShiverBane?" Lucy asked. "Who, or what, is ShiverBane?"

Luna reached out her hand. "Give me my weapon back, and I'll tell you. I promise." Daniel was hesitant, but he handed it back to her. He then realised how badly she was shivering.

"Thanks." She took it, and rose to her feet. "So-"

"Woah, woah, before we do anything, you look terrible." Daniel looked her up and down. "Your shivering…" She looked away from him. "We could take you somewhere, get you all patched up."

She was about to resist, but then she realised…

_Would Gale or Zane really care? _ShiverBane wasn't exactly very organised. People came and went from it all the time. And Gale, well, he never really care about anyone, aside from Magnus, who was now dead.

_Why didn't I realise that before? _She felt like smacking her hand on her forehead. She hadn't needed to fight them, didn't need to go back to Zane and Gale.

"Right, okay, I'll come with you guys." She put her weapon down in her boot, the only real place it would stay. Daniel looked at her for a second, and then began to walk down the street. To really show off their bad luck, it then started to rain!

Lucy and Luna began to follow after him. Luna was freezing cold, and as the cold bit into her skin, and she wished for the millionth time that Zane would have at least landed her some money to buy warmer clothes.

Lucy slipped her arm around her shoulders, hoping to warm her up a bit. Luna gave her a thankful smile.

_I wonder if people in ShiverBane treated her the same way that people did in Magnus' place… _Lucy was horrified at the thought. Luna was treated even more poorly than she was, and that was all because of that half mask. Lucy personally thought it looked really cool, but not everyone shared that same opinion unfortunately.

They continued to walk down the street in mostly silence. Daniel was mainly thinking about ShiverBane and what it implied.

_I've heard of the White Fang and other criminal organisations, but ShiverBane? Doesn't ring a bell. _It mustn't be that big of a organisation.

_Did Luna join it after I killed Magnus? _It seemed the most likely option, because after Magnus' death, he and Lucy had tried to find Luna, but to no avail, so they had eventually just given up and moved on.

_Well, guess I'll find out in a bit… _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**A hour later: **

Thankfully, Mercury, Emerald nor Cinder were lurking around, and Roman and Neo had been pretty understanding once they told her who she was. Neo was now staring at her curiously as Lucy got to work patching up her wounds.

"Sorry, I'm not exactly a doctor, so please forgive me if this hurts." It wasn't exactly like she was extremely badly injured, she walked down here just fine. There were just so many bruise and cuts, and some of them looked pretty deep. Even Neo was feeling slightly sympathetic, and this was Neo.

Daniel and Roman had been tasked with trying to get her something to eat, only to then figure out that there was nothing to eat.

"Did Neo eat everything?"

"She probably did. It's Neo."

"Alright, you can head back in." Daniel said. "I'll rummage up something to drink." He began to make a cup of coffee. Then, a sudden thought struck him.

_How much sugar does she like in it again? _

It had certainly been a while since they had last sat in one of the rooms of Magnus' huge underground base of operations, sipping coffee.

_Hmm… Oh, cream and two sugar's, right? _That was too specific not to be right.

"Lucy, Lucy, stop please!"

"Sorry!" There was a particularly nasty one on her leg, a scar which ran from the knee to the shin. It looked pretty gruesome.

Roman was pretty quiet, for Roman. Daniel brought in the cup of coffee, and set it down. He looked at her half mask, and mentally grimaced when he recalled what was behind it. He wondered if anyone had forced her to take it off, to show them what lay behind… He didn't want to think about that.

"So" Roman said. "ShiverBane, huh? Never heard of it." Luna didn't even look at him as she slowly picked up the cup of coffee, and sipped it. Her one visible eye noticeable widened, and she looked at Daniel.

"You remembered how I like it."

_Good job Daniel. You did something right for once. _"I remember these sorts of things."

"That's… that's probably the best act of kindness I have received in these past few years." She set it down. Lucy sat down next to her.

"Okay, so ShiverBane." She sat up. "I joined it not too long after Magnus died…" She looked at Daniel again. "Did you…"

"Yes, I killed him." Lucy noticeably winced when he said that.

"That's what I thought. After Magnus died, and you two guys left, I basically had no where to go. Me and a couple other people set out on our own, but we didn't get very far before hunger and tiredness took it's hold. Out of that little group, I was the only one who survived and made it into ShiverBane. The leader of it is a guy called Zane. Whenever he came across me, he told me about this group that had banded together to survive. I went with him, because I didn't have a choice. I couldn't go anywhere else. However, I soon found out that ShiverBane… wasn't like a friendship group. It was rough, and if you wanted to stay in it, you had to become tough. And since I was the youngest,I was the one everyone picked on. But I stuck with it, hoping that maybe it would get better. It didn't. It's not a organised group, people come and leave all the time. But in my current state, I had to stay. I would've died if I had left."

"So one day, Zane told us all that he had allied himself with somebody strong, someone powerful, who would help us. As soon as I found out it was Gale, I knew what his goal was, immediately. He wants to hunt down and kill the two of you."

"And he puts all that attention on us? Lucy, should we be flattered?"

Roman leaned forward. "So he wants Daniel and Lucy dead? Is he tracking them? Tracking us?"

"He knows where this place is."

"What?!"

"Indeed. He knows where you are. I didn't hear everything, but I think his plan was to wait until Lucy was here, alone, and then capture her. Then, that would draw Daniel in, and he would kill both of you."

Daniel and Lucy looked at each other for a moment and then looked back at Luna.

"But, you know where he's hiding out, right?" Roman asked. "Can't we storm the place and take him out?"

"Yeah, I know where he is. I can show you." She sipped her coffee again.

Daniel went over everything she just said. _So ShiverBane mustn't be be a very big organisation then… _

And Gale knew where they were?

_We need to get him before he gets us… _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**I should probably address a couple things. Firstly, Luna's weapon. A khophesh is an Egyptian sickle-sword that evolved from battle axes. Her's has a chain wrapped round it, which can be thrown out, as you read in the short fight. **

**Secondly, yes, ShiverBane is a very weird name. But I'm not great at naming these types of things, if you have any better suggestions, please do leave them in a review. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	18. Patience is key

**Chapter 18: Patience is key**

Lily was standing in the courtyard of Beacon Academy, thinking about what she had just done.

_Oh no, I threatened a student! Am I going to lose my job? What have I done? Why did I do that? _

The answer to that third question was probably the easiest. Alan had insulted her brother.

_I should've just kept my mouth shut… _

She put her back against a wall and sunk down to the ground.

_What I'm I going to do now? _

"My dear girl, what is wrong with you?" She looked up to find a pair of thick rounded glasses staring down at her. It was Dr Oobleck.

"Oh, nothing, I'm fine…"

"That does not sound like the voice of someone who is fine. You are also sitting on the floor with your back against a wall, a action usually performed only by those who are in great distress." He took a sip from his mug.

Lily looked up at him. _I might as well tell him… _

"Oobleck, I did something I shouldn't have."

"May you enlighten me on what that is?"

"I… I threatened a student." Oobleck basically jumped, a motion that nearly caused his glasses to come flying off. He readjusted them quickly.

"Dear heavens above, what reason could you possibly have for doing that?"

"He insulted my brother!" The words came out a whole more snappier than she would've liked. Oobleck already knew about Daniel.

"Ah, I see." He sipped from his mug again. "It would appear your emotions got the better of you. May I ask which student?"

"Alan O Malloy."

"Of course. The one who joined team RWBY in there fight against the Paladin."

"You've already heard about that?"

"Word travels around us teachers very quickly."

"I'm I going to lose my job?"

"I wouldn't see why. You made a mistake, a very big one yes, but a mistake nonetheless. We all make mistakes in life. And considering the circumstances around Daniel, I think I could let this one slide. However, I can not guarantee that Mr O Malloy will be quite so forgiving. He is probably on his way to Ozpin's office as we speak."

"Uhh, he's such a jerk though! He basically just doesn't care about his team at all!"

"Perhaps that is true. We have had more than a fair share of people like that in this school in the past. And if he can't work his issues through with his team, then he will fail as a huntsman. Because you and me both know that the first more important aspect of being a huntsmen is being able to work with others. If he cannot learn to master that skill, then he will be one of the first to fall as a huntsmen. It's harsh, but it's the truth. Why, I recall Amy was like that for a while, no?"

"That's probably because of the way I treated her. I still regret that to this day."

"You were young. And you still are. Amy may have cheated her way into Beacon with the help of Daniel, but look at her now. She is on the same level as you are, if not higher."

"Maybe, but what do I do now?"

"You will need to apologise of course."

"I guess…"

"Then you both shake hands and move on."

"Alright then." Lily stood back up. "Thanks."

"You are welcome." Then, he was gone again in the blink of a eye.

_What is it with that man and his speed? That conversation didn't even last two minutes and I already feel better… _

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"So, I suppose I might as well start from the beginning." Team BDAS were standing in front of Amy, waiting for her to begin.

"Well, hurry up and start then." Alan said. Damion shot him a angry glare.

"You are going to have a lot of questions, I can guarantee that. But please wait until I'm finished." She ran a hand through her hair.

"Alright then. So just to give you a bit of context, Daniel never wanted to go to Beacon. He didn't want to be a huntsmen. He was only planning to stick around to make sure Lily was fine, and then leave later on. But being made the leader of our team put a halt to that plan quickly. Our team was called DANL. It was basically named after him, so he really couldn't have left if he wanted to. But, he never told us that. He never told us that he didn't want to be a huntsman. He had loads of pent up feelings that he kept pushing down, and we didn't know about any of it. They all came to a head when Nicole died…" Damion and Samantha shared a look with each other. Alan's face was rather passive.

"She died on our graduation mission. When we were taken into Ozpin's office, Daniel started yelling at him, saying about how he had "sacrificed her like a pawn in chess", and he began ranting and raving about how huntsmen gave up there lives for a useless cause, and stuff like that. Then… he just left. He walked out of the office, walked out of the school, and…"

_Choose your next words carefully._

"… I haven't really seen him since. Me and Lily looked for him, obviously, but we didn't find him. Lily was hit the hardest. She didn't even know that Daniel didn't want to be a huntsman, his own sister. Not long after, we were flown out to a mission in Atlas. We found out he had teamed up with Roman and Neo, and apparently met Lucy at some point." She shrugged. "That's about it really."

"That's it?" Alan took a step towards her. "That's your big explanation?"

"There's not really much to say."

"Oh, I'm sure there's a whole lot more to say than that. I'm sure there's a whole lot you aren't telling me."

"Telling us." Bethany corrected him.

"But if this is supposed to make me feel sorry for her, you have done a very bad job at it."

"I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for her! I'm just explaining why she threatened you!"

"Well, you tell her this. Tell her that I challenge her to a sparring match next class."

"Alan…" Bethany said.

"Oh, a challenge? What's this all about now? Feel like you have something to prove?" Amy stood up. "You want me to tell her? Too scared to do it yourself?"

"Well, if she wants to threaten me, then I'm not backing down. And since she's probably off crying somewhere-"

"Alan, I strongly suggest that you shut that cocky egotistical mouth of yours. I'll tell her. I can't wait to see the look on your face when your on the ground, struggling to get up."

"We'll see about that." Alan spun on his heel and stalked out of the room. They all watched him go.

"Oh boy, this is going to be good." Amy grinned. "He wants to fight a huntress, he'll fight a huntress."

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"You can't stay here Luna." Daniel was facing her. "We are involved in a plan much bigger than you could imagine. We need to send you somewhere safe."

Luna looked at him, and raised her one visible eyebrow. "Where?"

"That's the problem. I don't know."

"What is this plan?"

"Basically, we are out to destroy Beacon Academy." Lucy said. "That's about the height of it."

"Who are you guys working for?"

"Women named Cinder Fall. Basically, she's a power hungry monster."

"So, just kill her then."

"We're still working on that."

"Beacon Academy." Daniel said all of a sudden. "Amy and Lily could take you there."

"You want to send her to the place we're trying to blow up?"

"Who are Amy and Lily?"

"Right, I get it's not the best place to send her, but it's the only place I can think of. They can take care of you there. Then, when we do go to destroy it, where we will kill Cinder, we can then find you, and since we won't be working with Cinder any more, because she'll be dead, you can come back with us."

"Dan, are you sure she won't be safer with us? Besides, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury are at Beacon, so they won't know she's here. Not to mention, she hasn't seen us in ages. Do you really think it would be fair to reunite her with people she cares about, then immediately send her into a place where she doesn't know anyone?"

"Yeah, I don't want to go to Beacon. I bet there's loads of people who would bully me because of my mask."

"I know, but-"

"Two against one Danny. You lose. And besides, even if we aren't here, she can take care of herself." Lucy crossed her arms.

"Alright then. Forget I said anything." Daniel wasn't happy about her staying, but he couldn't force her to go. It was probably for the best.

"So, what are we doing then?" Luna asked.

"Well, basically, in terms of the plan…" Daniel explained running the train into Vale and the rest of it.

"Right, and what about this Cinder person then?"

"She is going to die."

"Short and simple." Lucy added.

"Okay… I see."

"But, before we do any of that, you need some new clothes." Lucy looked Luna up and down. "That's really not going to cut it."

"Thanks. I can't remember the last time I wore anything else aside from these."

"Well, let's not wait around then." Daniel stood up and walked out of the room. Then, he stopped.

_Oh, it's Friday isn't it? I'm supposed to meet Amy and Lily… What time is it? _

He checked his watch, then realised he didn't have a watch, and then checked the clock on the wall, only to then realise there was no clock on wall, and lastly, he took his scroll out, but then realised he didn't have it.

"Has anyone seen my scroll?" Lucy pointed to a nearby table. "Ah, there it is." He picked it up, and checked the time.

_Okay, still have about one and a half hours. _

That was plenty of time. He walked out the door and waited for the two of them to come out.

**About twenty minutes later: **

Lucy was about to point one out, then immediately realised that it was the same one they had been seen running in a few days ago.

_Hmm… Might not be the best idea. _

"Aren't you guys, like, criminals? Can we just walk into a clothes store?"

Lucy patted Luna on the shoulder. "Don't worry yourself. No one will call the police, because the police are scared of us."

"What about the Atlas Military? Haven't they arrived to help with security for the Vytal Festival?"

"The Atlas Military won't come to stop us, because we are just a bunch of "low life criminals" and we "aren't worth there time." Daniel said.

"How can you be so sure?" Luna stopped walking. "I mean, they brought there whole fleet here to Vale. At least that's what I heard."

"Seriously Luna, it's not like General Ironwood or Winter Schnee are going to walk around that corner. We've been doing this for quite a while now, and we haven't been caught once."

They continued walking, and soon they came to a different clothes store. It was called _Infatuation. _

"Ah, now this is a good place." Daniel pointed towards it. "Let us find you the perfect outfit."

They entered amongst a crowd of people, all busily chattering away. A couple of people pointed fingers at them, but no one scrambled for there scroll.

"See, no one is even looking at us." Lucy said. "They just ignore us and pretend we aren't there. Now come on, let's find you something."

Daniel grumbled as he realised he was probably the one who was going to have to carry everything.

_Women have no respect at all for us men, just dump them all into our arms and expect us to sort it out. I have too many female friends. _

He followed them into the women's bit, and began to think about how they were going to kill Cinder.

_Maybe I should sneak attack her… Would she fall for that? Nah, probably not. Or does she only act really smart? Come on Neo, hurry up and give me more information about her plans! _

He spotted a sunny yellow dress with flowers on it. Deciding to be really annoying, he picked it up and carried it over.

"You would like this, wouldn't you Lucy?"

"You'd have to physically and mentally torture me before I would ever wear that."

"Why? I'd think you look quite nice in it, don't you think so Luna?"

Luna shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. I guess so?"

"It's too girly."

"Too girly?"

"Just look at it! It's hideous! If I were to wear a dress, something like this-" She picked out a black dress with a white and gold snake running down the back of it. "- would be more my style."

"That's… really nice actually." Luna took it from her and looked it up and down.

"You don't fight in dresses though, whoever does that is a completely and utterly stupid."

"I'm pretty sure Weiss Schnee does." Daniel said.

"My point is proven."

"Anyway, why are we looking at dresses exactly?" They moved on.

"Do you know what you would like?" Lucy asked Luna.

"Not really."

"Well, guess we're going to be here for a while then."

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"So, you sent this "Luna" out on a mission to track those two, and she hasn't come back?" Gale asked.

"Indeed." Zane said. He was a rather tall man with a green mohawk. He wore dark green trench coat, buttoned up, with a black shirt underneath. He also wore dark green pants and leather black boots along with red gloves. "It is of no concern to me if she survived or not. If she isn't strong enough to survive, that's not my problem."

"It's not a problem. We have several other assassins that can track them down."

"Gale, when are you actually planning to go in there and, you know, kill them? A lot of this plan seems to be "waiting around" when I thought it was "kill them."

"Zane, we must remain patient. This is our one, and only opportunity. We cannot waste it on some pointless attack. If we fail to subdue them immediately, they will fight back and get us. We must make sure everything is planned to perfection. We must wait for the right opportunity."

"Blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all before. You do know there is probably a chance that they could seek us out? That they have spotted some of our trackers, and know we are coming for them?"

"That is a chance I'm willing to take."

"It is a unnecessary risk that could be avoided if we strike now!"

"Did you not hear what I just said? We are waiting. I will not blow my chance at revenge because you decided to launch a attack!"

"It would be better-"

"I have been doing this for far longer than you have! I am organised, I know when to take risks! All you've done in these past years is lead a group of people who were doomed under your leadership! You are working for me. I'm the one in charge. You do what I say. Do you understand? Or do I need to make myself clearer?"

"No, you don't. I understand." Zane turned to leave. "Just because I'm working with you doesn't mean I have to agree with you." He walked out of the room.

"Uh, Gale sir?" Someone entered in after him. "Here's the footage you asked for."

"Ah, thank you Micheal." He took a USB pen out of his hands and plugged it into his computer. It was footage of the night the police tried to apprehend Daniel and Lucy.

He watched it carefully. It was important that he did, to get a feel of how they worked together, there movements, the weaknesses he could exploit. It was a very slow and boring approach, but Zane did not understand it was a necessary approach. While he hated complimenting the two of them, they had some smarts behind them. He needed to be careful and be tactful and strategic.

But there was nothing of use here. They dispatched of the police quickly and effectively and showed no signs of struggling. Gale sighed. He was going to have to get more footage. He walked out to find Micheal. He found him standing not too far away.

"Micheal, this footage is of no use to me. Go and find me some more."

"Of course sir," He took it and hurried off. Gale looked around at the people who were working for him. It was very easy to tell apart his own men and the ShiverBane ones. The ShiverBane ones wore very basic clothing like shirts and jeans with holes in them, and simple shoes, whereas his own men wore suits and ties and were far better equipped for combat.

The smell of nicotine filled the air and he turned to find a young women smoking.

_What utterly disgusting behaviour. _It was a common stereotype that criminal masterminds like himself smoked cigars. Quite frankly, he hated it. And he would not tolerate anyone doing it. He quickly walked over, plucked it out of her mouth, and disposed of it by throwing it into a bin.

"Hey! What do you think your-" She turned and stopped talking immediately when she saw it was him.

"Finish your sentence."

"I…It was nothing sir."

"That's what I thought." He turned and reentered his office.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**See, Gale is nice! He's trying to help people stop smoking! What a guy! **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	19. Great friends

**Chapter 19: Great friends**

As Lily walked through the school, she could feel several hundred pairs of eyes on her. Several of the students were whispering as she walked past them, and while she didn't hear what they said, she could only guess what they were saying. News circled around Beacon Academy very quickly.

It was because of this that she kept her head down and tried not to make eye contact with anyone as she headed to her and Amy's dormitory. By the time she had got there, she had bumped into several students and staff members alike. Port had asked her if she was okay, and she had quickly ran on without answering him.

Sighing to herself, she pushed open the door. Amy was sprawled out on there bed, flicking through her scroll and munching on what appeared to be a bag of crisps. She was barefoot, and had changed out of her combat gear into a much more casual attire, a blue denim jacket with a silver shirt on underneath, as well as a pair of jean pants. As soon as she saw Lily though, she jumped off the bed, came over, and put her arms around her, drawing her into a tight hug.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked. She put her hand on her hair and began stroking it softly. Lily loved that feeling, it was something Daniel had always done.

"Not really, no. Amy, I'm I going to lose my job? Did Alan-"

"You aren't going to lose your job. Not if I can help it. And no, Alan didn't say anything about taking it to Glynda or Ozpin."

"I don't think that matters Amy. I was walking down the corridor, and students were whispering things. I… I didn't hear what they said but-"

"Lily, it's going to be fine." She drew away from her, but kept her hands on her shoulders. "I promise."

"Nicole promised us that she would always be there for us, and look at how that turned out." Lily's tone held a certain amount of bitterness in it.

"How can you say-" Stopping herself, Amy hugged her again briefly, and then let go of her, and strode back over to the bed.

"Here." She picked up the bag of crisps and held them out. "Want some?"

Lily sat down on the edge of the bed and took her boots off. "No thanks."

"More for me then." She continued to noisily crunch on them. "Did you forget it was a Friday? We're going out with Daniel in about a hour or so."

"No, I didn't forget."

"That's good. We should go out shopping, we still need to buy dresses for the dance. Daniel could be our, uh, what's the word? He could be the person who looks at us and tells us if we look good or not."

"Maybe."

There's no maybe about it, it's what we are going to do. It'll help take your mind off... what just happened."

Lily shrugged off her jacket, revealing a black t-shirt with the image of a white snake on it, and swung her legs up onto the bed, hugging them to her chest. Amy shuffled up and put her arm around her.

"Or if you don't want to, I could text him and say-"

"No no, I want to go."

Perhaps he'll bring Lucy along, and we'll finally get to meet her. I'll have a lot of fun teasing her about the blue hair."

Lily didn't say anything, and laid her head down on the pillow, turning to the side. Amy put her hand on her shoulder. Sighing, Amy picked up the now finished crisp packet and tried to chuck it into the bin, but overshot it. Groaning, she got off the bed and walked over to it, and threw it into the bin. Turning around, she observed Lily, observed the way her long dark hair was sprawled over the pillow, observed the way she suddenly turned onto to her back. She was reminded of the nights shortly after they had left Beacon, the nights where Lily hadn't been able to sleep because she was so worried about Daniel. It broke Amy's heart to see her best friend like this.

She walked over to the side of the bed where Lily was lying, and gently brushed her hair out of her eyes. Lily looked up at her, and Amy offered her a small smile.

"Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"Even after all these years, after all we've been through, especially after Daniel left and Nicole died, I still don't think I've fully repaid you."

"Fully repaid me for what?"

"For… well, everything. Your kindness, for being there when my brother wasn't. I still don't understand why I hated you at Beacon."

"Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I cheated my way in? That's what I remember you hated me for. You thought I wasn't worthy, that I was "a waste of a student spot". And, well, quite frankly, I probably deserved it."

"You didn't though. You… trained and you got better. And look at you now, your probably a better huntress than I could ever be."

"Hey, don't say that." Amy continued running her fingers through Lily's hair. "Your just as great as I am. Well, maybe slightly worse, but that's to be expected. I am Amy Ivankeo after all."

Lily smiled very faintly. "Don't be so cocky. I'm sure your not as great as, say, Qrow Branwen."

"Oh no, not Qrow Branwen! He's got the name of a bird, I'm so scared!"

Lily chuckled a bit. "Fair point actually."

"That's probably his semblance, the power to turn into a bird! Now that I think about it, that would be quite helpful actually. You could soar the skies of Remnant, watching everything that's going on… while also swooping up mice and eating them."

"Uh, that's disgusting!"

"Perfectly normal for a bird though."

Lily raised her head and sat up. "I highly doubt Qrow eats mice, Amy."

"We don't know. He could do." Amy shrugged.

"I really doubt it."

"Still fun to think about though. Qrow Branwen, legendary huntsmen, slayer of Grimm, eater of mice!"

"Amy Ivankeo, legendary huntress, slayer of evil, eater of-"

"Personally, I prefer, Amy Ivankeo, awesome huntress, slayer of big bad Grimm, eater of out of date food."

"Wait, what?"

"Those crisps…" She pointed towards the bin. "Are exactly one day out of date."

"What a rebel you are."

"I know right?" She slapped Lily on the arm. "Bow to me and my rebellious teenager ways."

Lily began to laugh.

"There you are, don't you feel better now?"

"A bit. Thanks Amy."

"Any time." She peered at the clock on the wall. "We should probably go soon."

"Yeah, sure."

Amy immediately cursed herself when she realised she forgot to tell her about Alan's challenge.

_Darn, should I say now? She seems to be in a relatively good mood though. I think I'll tell her when we get back… _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_What's this? A women carrying her own clothes and not getting a man to do it for her? Amazing. Humanity has really taken a new step in evolution. _

Luna was carrying the clothes they had bought her. Daniel had decided it would be best to just let Lucy help her look for stuff, since his understanding of women's clothing went as far as "They like dresses and heels" and stopped there.

"I reckon your going to look pretty spiffy Luna." Lucy said. "Don't you think so Daniel?"

"Yeah, I think so too." The outfit that they had bought would suit her rather well. At least he thought so.

"Alright, so, who's coming with me to see Amy and Lily?" He asked. "Or am I going on my own?"

"I'll come." Lucy said. She reckoned it was finally about time she met his sister.

"I… think I'll just head back thanks." Luna said.

Lucy looked at her. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll be fine."

"Roman and Neo should be in." Daniel said.

"Alright, well, see you guys later." Luna hurried off, bag in hand.

"She still seems so… young, even after all this time. And so innocent. Hard to think that's the same person who assassinated a lot of people back when we were with Magnus." Lucy said.

"Young and innocent. That's what I always thought of her."

"Dan, she may be young, but she's certainly not innocent. Come on, time for me to meet Amy and Lily."

She began to walk away, and Daniel watched her for a brief moment.

_Oh man, this is going to be fun… _

He followed after her. The very concept of Amy and Lucy meeting scared him. He was going to have to keep a close eye on both of them.

Soon, they arrived at Eat Your Heart Out. Lucy opened the door and they both stepped inside. Daniel soon saw Amy and Lily, and waved at them.

They both stood up and walked over to him. Daniel suddenly realised the terrible predicament he was in, surrounded by three women who all cared about him a lot, and would probably fight for his attention.

_So much fun! _

"Hey." Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and embraced him.

While brother and sister did brother and sister things, Amy and Lucy eyed each other up.

"So, you would be Lucy?"

"Might be. You would be Amy I assume?"

"I would be. Have you heard anything about me?"

"Danny has talked about you."

"Mainly good things I hope?"

"Mostly good things, a couple of bad things."

"Right. So, are you his girlfriend, or what's the deal there?"

"You'll be happy to know that I am not. So, he's all yours if you want him."

Daniel broke away from Lily and stared the both of them down. "I have no interest in entering a romantic relationship with either of you."

"You don't sound so sure." Lucy said. She was smiling.

"Uh, this is the problem with having so many female friends..." He muttered.

Both Amy and Lucy began to laugh.

"You know Daniel," He turned back to Lily. "Some men would kill to have the amount of female friends you have. I would count yourself lucky. You apparently have a way with women."

"But, we didn't come here to talk about your romantic life." Amy said. "We need your help in something."

"What may that be?"

"See, the Beacon dance is coming up, and-"

"You need me to wander around a store with you for about five hours, carrying everything for you."

"Well, that and you could also give an opinion on how we look?"

Daniel leaned backwards and groaned loudly for about ten seconds. "Fine."

"Thanks. Speaking of looks..." Amy pointed to Lucy's blue hair. "Seriously?"

"What? I like it."

"It looks so... weird."

"I'm not exactly a outcast. Plenty of people have dyed blue hair."

"And that's so odd to me. What's wrong with your natural air colour?"

"I... I look really bad with blonde hair."

"I reckon you'd look great."

"I really don't. It makes me look about ten years younger."

"Aww, you would probably look really cute then."

"Cute? Cute?! Who are you calling cute?!"

"I'm calling you cute." Amy ruffled Lucy's hair.

"Uh, stop that! Is she always like this?"

"Yes, Lucy." Daniel said. "This is Amy Ivankeo for you. Get used to it."

Amy grinned while Lucy tried to fix her hair. "Daniel told me that he thought I would be really great friends with you. I might have believed him once, but now I'm not so sure."

"Aw, why not?" Amy spread her hands out. "I mean, I'm really funny, and I can tell you some really bad jokes."

Lucy raised a eyebrow. "I can tell really bad jokes too."

Daniel put his hands on either side of his face. _No, no, I beg you God of Light and Darkness, don't start this. _

"Do you want to hear a joke about a piece of paper?" Amy said. "Never mind, it's tearable."

"I was once interrogated over the theft of a cheese toastie. The police really "grilled" me."

"What do you call a can opener that doesn't work? A "can't" opener."

"I was thinking about removing my spine. I really feel like it's holding me back."

_Make it stop! _Daniel looked at Lily, who had her hand over her mouth, clearly trying not to smile.

"I'm really terrified of elevators" Amy leaned forward. "So I'm going to start taking "steps" to avoid them."

"Why shouldn't you write with a broken pencil?" Lucy took a step forward. "Because it's "pointless."

"Okay, that's enough, I can't take anymore. Let's go to the shop now." Daniel walked in between them and headed out the door.

Lily put a hand on Amy's shoulder. "Did you hear the story about the haunted house? It really lifted my spirits."

"I heard that!"

**Twenty minutes later: **

"Where do ghosts buy clothes?" Lucy said when they entered the shop. "At the boo-tique!"

Daniel was on the verge of giving up and lying down on the floor and start bawling his eyes out. He was dreading this meeting, and the bad jokes had overtaken him. It didn't help that Lily seemed to think they were really funny.

"Please stop. I really can't deal with it anymore. It's too cheesy."

"Come on. You used to really appreciate jokes like that." Amy said.

"Used to is the key phrase that your looking for. I don't like them anymore. We aren't students anymore, bad jokes are not the best form of comedy."

"There a good way to annoy someone though." Lucy pointed out.

"Yes, and when the person your annoying also happens to be carrying a huge sword, maybe that's not the best thing to do."

"You? Hit me with that? I don't think so."

"It's not just me. There are plenty of black haired men with big swords walking around, who would probably get extremely agitated at your bad jokes and cheesy one liners."

"Maybe, but you just like to act agitated. You love us really." Amy patted him on the shoulder.

Walking around the shop, Daniel almost immediately knew what Amy and Lily were looking for in terms of dresses. Amy would go with something bold, bright, because that's the kind of person she was. Lily on the other hand, would go for something far more causal, because she wouldn't want to stick out like a sore thumb.

Or at least that's what she was like at Beacon. Maybe now she was different. He didn't know, but he was about to find out. He looked at Lucy, who was looking at her scroll. In all the time he had known her, she had never worn a dress, not once. Even when they had sometimes went to parties at Juniors bar, she hadn't dressed up. Her reasoning was mostly "It's too girly."

"Let me see, let me see…" Amy was thumbing through dresses.

"And so it begins." Daniel said to Lucy. "Witness the true boredom of watching women shop. Takes them far too long to decide what they want, takes them far too long to try it on, and when you finally think your home free, nope, they don't like it, and you've got to start the whole process again."

"Bet your glad I'm not really fussy about what I wear."

"Lucy, I am very, very glad you are not fussy about what you wear."

"Dresses really aren't my thing anyway."

"I know. You've said that a lot. You don't wear heels either."

"That's because I can't walk in them properly. I trip, and stumble, and then next thing I know, I'm flat on my face."

"Oh, let me guess-" Amy said, who had been listening in on their conversation while looking for something. "Your one of those women."

"One of those women?" Lucy said.

"It's too girly." Amy mocked. "I need everyone to think I'm some kind of rebel women who doesn't wear "girly" things." She held up both her hands and made quotation marks in the air.

"No, it's not because of that. I've just never been a fan of them. Even when I was younger, I didn't wear them." Lucy stuck her hands into her pockets.

"I would be inclined to believe you if you also didn't dye your hair blue and wear fingerless gloves like your some kind of biker."

"What is your deal with my hair?!" She sounded very agitated. "If you really must know, I dyed it because my natural blonde hair reminds me of a time in my life that I would really not like to be reminded of, thank you very much."

"Yeah right." Amy said. "Your totally trying to be a teenage rebel, even though you don't look young enough to be a teenager."

"Would you-!"

"Amy, stop." Daniel's voice was firm and hard. He walked over to her. "She's very sensitive about her past, and doesn't like to be reminded of it. That's why she dyed it, as a sort of way of trying to escape it I suppose."

"Well, in case you didn't figure it out, I wasn't aware of that. You know how I like to joke about these things, so maybe a heads up would have been nice?"

"Joking about blue hair though? Amy, loads of people have blue hair. It's not exactly a uncommon thing."

"Alright, alright, I get it." She looked towards Lucy, who was staring at the two of them.

"I'm sorry about making fun of your hair. It actually really suits you."

Lucy simply nodded and continued looking through her scroll. Lily walked over to them.

"What about this?" She held up a long green and aqua coloured sleeveless dress. "I think it looks really nice."

"Yeah, it does. Try it on." Amy continued looking.

"I wasn't referring to myself. I think it would really suit you."

"Oh, right." Amy took it from her and looked it up and down. "Let me just find the changing room. I'll be back in a second." She strode off.

"Let me guess. Your looking for something black." Daniel said to Lily.

"Yeah, you know how I hate standing out. Especially at parties and things. I'm really not great with crowds."

"Well, how is the teaching going then? You kind of need to stand out there."

"It… could be a lot worse. In sparring class, I mainly let Amy introduce the match, and stuff like that."

"What about your aura training then?"

"I don't tend to speak much. Most of the time, I just set them something to do, and they do it."

"Ah, fair enough."

"I…" Lily hesitated for a moment, and then decided he deserved to know. "Got into a bit of bother today." Her fingers were lingering over a black dress.

"What kind of bother?"

"I threatened a student." She looked up at Daniel, expecting to see shock or disbelief. Instead, he simply raised a eyebrow.

"You must have had a pretty good reason for doing that."

"It… was because of you."

"Eh, how? I wasn't standing there forcing you to threatening him or her."

"He was insulting you. He was calling you a repulsive, vile, inhuman man."

Daniel shrugged. "That's how most of the public sees me. I'm not surprised. You didn't need to threaten him."

"What else did you expect me to do? Stand there and listen to him?"

"Yes. If Ozpin finds out about this…" He drew his finger across his neck. "Your done for as a teacher."

"He probably already has. But I don't care, I would have done it anyway."

"Of course you would have." Daniel said quietly. Lily reached out and took his hand, squeezing it softly. Letting go, she continued to browse.

"Alright, we get it, you look great." Lucy suddenly said. They both turned around to see that Amy had came back.

Lucy's sarcasm aside, Amy looked absolutely stunning. The dress was slit at the right side, and the left side of the dress stopped just above her shin. The green and aqua colour looked perfect, and her long white hair was nearly touching her shoulders.

When she noticed they were both looking, she smiled and did a little twirl. "I really like this."

"The boots do kind of ruin the effect." Daniel was referring to the fact that Amy was still wearing her boots.

"Obviously I'm not going to walk into the dance wearing boots." Amy rolled her eyes at him. "That would be very informal of me."

"Amy, you are a lot of things, but formal is not one of them." Lily said with a smile. "Wearing boots and a dress is totally something you would do."

"Is it? I'm not so sure."

"Yeah, it really is." Daniel was fully in agreement with Lily on this matter.

"Okay then, if you say so." She grinned at both of them. "I don't even have to consider anything else." She flicked a dismissive hand towards the other dresses. "This is what I'm getting." She walked off again to change back into her regular clothes.

_That was a lot quicker than expected. _Daniel thought to himself. _And here I was thinking she was going to take forever. _

Then he looked towards Lily, who was admiring a short black dress. _Then again, who knows how long Lily is going to take? _

He couldn't wait to find out.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**I'm sure you all really like the shopping scenes, that's why I stuck two of them, two chapters in a row. **

**For those of you who read Do What we do best as well, sorry that chapter is taking longer than usual. I keep changing my mind about what I want to happen. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	20. Student Versus Teacher

**Chapter 20: Student versus Teacher**

**Criminals and Mentors**

Luna sat down on the edge of the bed, and dropped the bag of clothes next to her. Rummaging around in it, she laid them all out on the bed. Roman was talking to Neo outside the door.

She had decided to stay as far away from Neo as possible, as the girl just freaked her out. She was so small, yet so terrifying. It was a odd combination.

Kicking off her boots, she began to get changed into the new outfit, which consisted of a black shirt with a image of a blue wolf howling at the moon, as well as a white trench coat which stretched down just past her thighs, which she decided to leave unbuttoned, and keep the collar up, which was a dark blue colour. She then pulled on a pair of black slacks, with vertical white lines running down either side. Finally, she put on a pair of black shoes with bright white soles on them. Standing back up, she observed herself in the mirror.

_Hey, not bad. _It felt so good to wear anything besides her previous battered and tattered clothes. Looking down at them, she realised just how bad they were. The amount of holes and rips and tears were simply astounding. They were definitely getting thrown out.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she ran a hand through her white and black hair, and sighed. Back when she was still with Magnus, her hair had been purely white. It had actually been Daniel's idea to dye her hair black at the side her mask was on. He said it would give her "a unique look" and "help show others she didn't care that she had the mask." Because people had bullied her, abused her, because of the half mask.

And even to this day, she still hated it. Hated the mask. Hated how she looked when she looked into the mirror, and saw a half human, half weird thing staring back at her. But there was a reason the mask was there, and she didn't want to think about that reason.

Very slowly, very gently, she pulled the mask up, and ran her hand over the scarred skin. Her left eye was completely gone, and there was a few dried bits of blood under where it used to be. She had never been able to clean it off, because taking a cloth to it had hurt far too much, hell, even just touching it hurt far too much. It was completely covered in red scars, and sometimes, she would wake up in the middle of the night because they had just started hurting really badly. It lead to many restless nights.

Lowering the mask back down, she heard a knock on the door. "Hey, Luna, are you in there?" It was Lucy. Luna walked over and pulled open the door. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Nice outfit there. The trench coat especially. Really suits you."

"Oh, uh, thanks. What were you doing with Daniel and your other two girls?"

"See, there teachers at Beacon, and the dance is coming up soon, so we were out buying dresses."

"Oh, okay. So, what are we going to do now?"

"I'll tell you what we are going to do. You are going to tell us all where Gale's place is, then we're going to head out, storm it, kill him, and that's about it."

"Right now?"

"Well…" Lucy spread her arms out. "We have to head to Mountain Glenn in a few days to get on the train, so there's really no time to waste."

"Alright then. I'll do it now then."

Lucy walked back out, and Luna followed after her. Daniel, Roman, and Neo were all standing up, and patiently waited for her to tell them.

"Do any of you have a scroll I can borrow? I think it would be easier if I just showed you on the little, uh, what do you call that maps thing?"

"Remnant maps." Roman said. "Very original."

"Yeah, so I can show you on that." Neo came over and pressed hers into Luna's hand. She smiled at her, and her eyes changed colours. Luna noticeably shuddered.

_That's so creepy. _She didn't know what kind of condition would cause that, but she also didn't want to find out. She took the scroll and went onto Remnant maps. It took her a couple of minutes, but she eventually found it, sectioned off in a corner of the city.

"There." She held it up so they all could see, and pointed to the screen. "It's over here."

"Bit of a odd place to set up a hideout." Roman commented. "I mean, where's the fun in no one knowing where you are?"

"It wouldn't be a "hide"out then." Lucy said. "You need to be able to hide in it, and you can't very well hide in a place where everyone knows you are."

"What would it be called then? Just a out?"

"Yeah, we'll go with that."

"Alright then." Daniel said. "Gale RiverDale is going down."

**Criminals and Mentors**

"Your not really serious about this whole duel thing, are you Alan?" Damion said as the four of them walked to sparring class.

"When have I ever not been serious?"

"You are going to get destroyed! She isn't a huntress for no reason after all!"

"Yeah, you don't stand a chance." Samantha said. Alan did not say anything, a trope he had seemed to have mastered lately. The art of silence was a very important one. Alan opened the door to the hall, and the room fell deathly silent when he walked in. Lily was standing down at the front, and she stared at him, and you could practically feel the tension radiating off the two of them.

"Alan, I'm sorry." Her tone was sincere and even a bit tearful. Alan didn't take his seat however. Instead, he walked straight down to the front of the room, and stood in front of her.

"Lily Silva, I hereby challenge you to a duel."

A loud gasp went up around the room.

"A duel?!"

"Did I hear him right?!"

"Is he mad?"

"He's going to get destroyed!"

He didn't reply to this outburst, he kept his gaze focused entirely on Lily.

"Well?"

She seemed very taken aback. "I..." She looked at Amy, who walked over, put a hand on her shoulder and whispered something into her ear. Lily nodded, took a deep breath and then stepped towards Alan.

"I accept."

Damion put his head in his hands. "Oh no..." Alan retained a rather neutral facial expression, and motioned to the other side of the hall. Lily walked over and took her spot, bringing out NightSlayer and holding it out in front of her.

"Alan" Amy said. "Are you-"

"I am sure."

Amy sighed. "Alright then. Get ready for one hell of a fight." She looked towards Lily. "Don't hold back just because he's a student, okay?"

Lily didn't say anything.

"Okay then, get ready. Three...two... one..."

Lily made to tap her weapon against his own in a sign of respect, but Alan did not show such courtesy, striking before Amy had even said go. He ducked underneath her outstretched chainsaw sword and brought one of his claws up in a uppercut, the close range forcing Lily to jump back. He pressed the attack, bringing both his claws down in a overhead slash, which she blocked. The two of them were face to face for a moment, before Alan leapt back and came for her again. Lily sidestepped his first blow, deflected his second, grabbed his wrist when he went for a third, and spun him around in a circle before leaping up and bringing her boot down hard in a jumping kick, a blow which forced him backward. Keeping up the assault, she charged at him and kneed him in the face, stunning him for a second before she then landed a quick series of kicks to his chest, causing him to double over for a spilt second, before he then brought his claw back in a overhead swipe, which she slipped underneath and put her arm around his head, locking him in a headlock before leaping up into the air, taking him with her and spiking his head into the ground when she came back down.

"Ouch." Samantha winced. "That looked like it hurt."

She then rolled back and put her weapon out in front of her once again, daring him to come at her. Growling like a wild animal, Alan stood back up and faced her once again. This time was nowhere near as successful as the first, as his kick was parried and she grabbed his leg, causing him to lose his balance and fall over. She pinned him to the ground by putting her boot on his chest.

"Just say you forfeit." She whispered. "It'll make it easier for both of us."

"That's not going to happen." Alan began to shimmer with a yellow light as a aura manifestation of a giant snake appeared behind Lily, which she was forced to turn around and confront. Luckily, it wasn't very durable, as a single swipe from NightSlayer was enough to shatter it. But that give Alan the chance he needed to slip between her legs and launch himself up using both his hands, a double kick to the face, which sent Lily staggering backwards. Seeing this as his opportunity to strike, Alan launched himself forward. Lily drew her arm back and threw her weapon at him, and he was forced to dig his heels into the ground and come to a sudden stop and raise his claws up to protect his face as it came slamming into him at full speed, with such force it bounced right off and came flying back into Lily's hands.

She put it out and opened up the gun compartment, firing several shots at him which he was quick to deflect and then run at her again. Instead of blocking or parrying it, Lily rushed to meet him, but instead of deflecting his oncoming attack, she jumped over his head and brought her leg down in a axe kick, catching him off guard and taking him down to the ground. Keeping up the momentum, she launched herself backwards and performed a backflip into a bicycle kick when Alan tried to get back up, staggering him once again, and she elbowed him on the back of the head, wrapped her arm around his back, and using one arm, was able to successfully throw him to the side.

Amy cast a quick glance towards the aura monitors. Lily was winning by a landslide, her aura was still in the green, and Alan's was in the yellow, beginning to draw closer and closer to the red. Bethany was leaning forward, watching the fight intently, while Damion was leaning back in his chair, hands under head, not seeming too bothered about the whole thing.

Alan gritted his teeth upon the realisation that his aura was beginning to get low, and clasped his hands together, sending out a clone out of a giant spider. Lily was able to take it out fairly easily with a few well placed slashes and kicks, but Alan came jumping through and landed on her, hard. They both went sprawling to the ground in a flurry of fists. Alan tried to pin her down to the ground, and was able to punch her in the face. Lily put both her feet underneath him, and kicked upwards, knocking him into the air. When he came back down, she took hold of his jacket and threw him back up into the air. Jumping up, she slashed him several times in the air, before shooting herself forward with a burst of speed, and took a brief moment for both of them to hang in the air, before Lily kicked Alan in the chest, a brutal shot which slammed him into the ground, knocking out his remaining aura. She landed on her feet gracefully, but he was already back on his feet and rushing her again.

"Hey, hey, Alan, stop! The match is over! Your aura-" He slammed into her once again, with such savagery that it caused her to be knocked back a couple of feet, and she had to stick her weapon into the ground to slow herself down.

"What is he doing?" Samantha said. Bethany stood up and started running down the stairs. Everyone else was simply watching on. Amy was on her feet and about to rush out, but then she saw Bethany running down, and decided to hold back for a moment. Launching herself into the sparring area, she slid in front of Lily and put both her blades out. Alan smashed into her, and the two of them were now face to face.

"Alan, it's over. Look at your aura." Lily had stood up and took a few steps back.

"Get out of my way Bethany!"

"Alan, calm down! Now!" Amy had begun to advance on the two of them.

Alan jumped back and faced Bethany. Damion and Samantha had both also began making their way down.

"Do you really think-" Amy began to say.

"Wait" Bethany held her hand out. "Please."

Alan was watching her intently.

"Alan, ever since the start of the year, you've been rather…distant. You seem to prefer spending time on your own than you do spending time with us. And, I don't get why. Do you not trust us? Did we do something, did I do something? You don't tell us anything, and that's the problem. As a leader, as a partner, how… how I'm I supposed to help you if you don't tell me anything? All I want to do is to help you, but you won't let me. Please… Alan, won't you just let me help you?"

She took a step forward and held out her arms, signifying she wanted to give him a hug. Alan looked at her, and sneered.

"I won't be touched by you." He then quickly took a step forward and raised back his claw, and slashed her across the stomach.

A loud gasp went up round the room, as she doubled over, a large cut now across her stomach, and she looked up at him.

"Alan…" Damion sprinted across the room and planted his boot in Alan's chest before he could react, and he went flying back into the wall.

"What is wrong with you?!"

Samantha knelt down, and gingerly put a hand on Bethany's shoulder. The cut was already starting to heal, but it had caused quite the rip in her jacket. She was looking up at Alan, and the first signs of tears had begun to form in her eyes.

Alan had got back up, and Damion was gripping his weapons, hard, glaring at him. Amy stepped in between them, and held out both her hands either side of her.

"Damion, not now. Don't do this." She looked over to Alan. "Why did you do that?" Her voice was calm, but held a dangerous edge to it.

"I don't have to explain myself to any of you." He glared at the rows of students, and then fixed his attention back on Amy.

"Especially not to you."

"What is your problem? What are you trying to prove? There is nobody in this room who is impressed at the fact you challenged a huntress, and there is definitely no one in this room who is impressed at what you just did."

Alan simply turned and stalked out of the room.

"Hey, where do you think you are going?!" Amy called after him. He didn't respond. She made to go after him, but then stopped herself.

_It's not worth it. If he wants to go off and sulk like a sad little brat, let him do that._

She was going to have to inform Glynda or Ozpin about this though. But not right now.

"Why did he do that?" Damion came over and wrapped his arms around Bethany. "Why?"

Samantha looked over at Lily, who had been rather idle throughout the entire thing. She had her head down, her long black hair covering her face, so her expression couldn't be read. Amy walked over to Lily.

"Are you not going to go after him?" Lily asked Amy.

"No, it's just not worth it. He wouldn't tell me anything anyway." She sighed. "We are going to have to tell Ozpin about this though. We can't let that slide."

"Why did he do-"

"Hey, Beth, come back!" They both turned around to see Damion sprinting out the door, Samantha right behind him.

"Oh no, where are they going?"

"You wait here." Amy patted Lily on the shoulder. "I need to make sure Damion and Alan don't kill each other." She took off running out the door as well.

"Why did he do that?" Lily turned to face Ruby, who was sitting in the front, and had just asked the question out loud.

Lily looked out the door. "I wish I could answer that."

**Criminals and Mentors**

**Welp, it's getting real now. Oh, and I forget to put this at the end of the last chapter, but there's a Chibi version out now, in case you didn't notice. Maybe you should read it? **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	21. Criminal Versus Criminal

**Chapter 21: Criminal Versus Criminal **

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"So, is this the place?" Daniel drew the car up outside the old rickety building. It was in quite a remote place, sealed away behind other buildings which populated the area. Roman and Neo came up behind them, in a old truck which wasn't really supposed to be on the road due to the state it was in, but luckily, they hadn't crashed, so that was a good thing.

"Yeah, this is it." Luna stepped out, followed by Lucy.

"How are we planning to sneak into here?" Roman asked. "Or are we just going to walk in, knock him out, and leave?"

"We aren't just knocking him out. We're killing him." Lucy's voice was firm. "I'll be damned if I let him live." She looked up at Daniel, who was studying the old building.

_No visible other way to get in aside from those doors... _The doors were a black colour and huge. The building stretched up pretty high, but since it was down a narrow alleyway, they couldn't see the sides or back of it. On the door, there was a fingerprint scanner.

Walking over to them, Luna stepped forward, and looked back at all of them.

"Are you ready? There's usually guards standing here, and this is the only way in."

Daniel took Death's Grace off his back, Lucy pulled out Poison and Venom, and Roman and Neo got there own weapons ready.

"Ready."

"Okay then, three-" She put her hand on the scanner. "-two, one..."

_Access Denied. _

She blinked. "Huh? Let me try again..."

It didn't work the second time.

"Well, that's rather anticlimactic." Roman helpfully commented.

"That's strange. Usually they only remove your touch ID when they think you've died." The realisation struck her.

"Gale must have thought you both killed me."

"That's rather stupid." Roman said. "Sometimes jobs can run over and last longer than anticipated."

Lucy suddenly stepped forward and kicked the door as hard as she could. It made a loud banging noise, but didn't break.

"If there are any guards on the other side, that's sure to get there attention." She was right in that regard, as several hushed voices could be heard from behind the door, before a loud beeping noise could be heard, and they came sliding open.

"What is it you-Oof!" Lucy spin kicked the poor man into oblivion. They stepped inside.

It seemed to be a network of doors. There were several different ways to go, along with staircases, winding tunnels which lead who knows where, but luckily there were several helpful signs around the place to help you identify where you needed to go. Not that they had time to look at those things, as several more men came rushing out to block them off.

"Hey, stop right there!"

Those men were dispatched rather quickly, as Lucy and Luna both rushed them, and these men were not well organised or well in sync at all, as Luna whipped her chain around one of there guns, and he just stood there blankly, not having a clue what to do, as she disarmed him and booted him in the face. Lucy ducked underneath a easily predictable shot from one of them, grabbed him by the arm and kicked him in the shin, before throwing him over her shoulder. Two other thugs rushed around them and sprinted for Daniel, Neo and Roman, knives drawn, but Neo cartwheeled her way over there heads, leaving them to turn around, confused, before Roman smacked one of them in the back of his head with his cane, and Daniel punched the other one in the back of the head, knocking him out almost instantly.

_Don't they have aura? _He looked down at them, dressed in pretty flimsy clothing, mostly t-shirts and jeans.

_They must be the members of ShiverBane… _Gale wouldn't have dressed his men in such tattered clothing, he took after Magnus that way. Appearance was very important.

With those men now down for the count, they quickly ran up a flight of stairs before anyone else came. They came to a hallway, a hallway of more doors.

"Now then, every movie ever has taught me that in the big bad base, the big bad boss is usually at the very top of the base." Lucy said. "Therefore, we ignore all these doors, and just look for another stair-"

Several more men, who had obviously heard the commotion from downstairs, opened up the doors and jumped out.

"Or maybe not."

The men came sprinting towards them, these ones also appeared to be ShiverBane ones. Daniel was the one to make the first move this time, hitting one of them with the hilt of Death's Grace, before sweeping out the legs of another, knocking him to the ground. Another one came running, but Lucy jumped over Daniel and grabbed one of the doors, swinging it forward and knocking another one unconscious. Roman and Neo had used a quick decisive team attack to take out one that had tried to sneak up on them, with no success, as he found himself blasted back into a wall.

"And that's another group down. Score one for team Smooth Criminals." Roman held out one of his fingers. They continued to race down the hallway and up another flight of stairs, this place seemed to have a lot of them. This time around, they all came to a open room before they were jumped.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Gale was sat in his office, and upon hearing that there were people in the building, taking out the ShiverBane men with relative ease, he demanded that all his top trained men were to stay with him while the "rabid dogs" delayed whoever was here.

Although Gale had a very suspicious feeling he knew who it was. He quickly took his weapon out of his coat pocket, a revolver with dust capabilities built into it. Taking some dust out of one of the drawers, he walked forward and out of the door into the main room of the upstairs part of the building, almost like a living room with a television and a few couches.

"Everyone, follow me and we will eliminate these intruders!"

One of his men rushed forward and stood guard in front of him, gun pointed at the nearby door. They stood there in silence and waited for what felt like a entirety. The door didn't move, didn't even show any signs of opening for several seconds. That was until the sound of footsteps charging up the stairs was heard.

"Get ready!" Gale aimed his gun at the door along with everyone else.

The door flew open with such ferocity it was nearly ripped straight off it's hinges. A hail fire of bullets was rained upon whoever it was there that had just opened the door. However, the bullets didn't kill them. Instead, the deafening sound of bullets meeting metal filled his air as nearly all the shots they had just fired were easily blocked. All of a sudden, Gale was blasted back with a kick. All of his men rushed forward, forcing whoever it was back. Gale stood back up and got a good look at who it was.

"You!" He glared at Daniel and Lucy, and didn't even look at Roman or Neo or pay them any heed. His men were looking back and forth, unsure of what to do.

"You both have a lot of nerve coming here after what you did to Magnus." His voice, while remaining relatively calm, held a dangerous tone to it.

"And you have a lot of nerve returning to this city with your fancy crew, and hiring ShiverBane to serve you."

It was only then that Gale noticed Luna. "Ah, so this is the little rat who told you where to find me."He looked to her for a brief second, and then looked back at Daniel. "Zane thinks she's dead you know. But that doesn't matter now. What does matter is that I am going to kill both of you and your little friends if necessary."

"You and those guys? I don't think so." Lucy said.

Suddenly, the two elevators either side of them opened up, and several more men came pouring out.

"I have many more, so don't get so cocky Lucy Locke." The men readied themselves to charge, and the stage was set for the duel of a lifetime.

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

Alan came to a stop in the main courtyard of Beacon, and turned around to see his three teammates rushing after him.

"Alan, Alan…" Bethany was in front of Damion and Samantha, her arm outstretched. She repeated his name. He stared at her, and slowly, very slowly, smoothed back his hair away from his forehead. It had been covered, and for a very good reason.

Two goat horns, very small, poked out of his forehead. He didn't pay attention to the sudden gasp that he heard, didn't say anything, didn't respond, that one action was all the explanation they needed. Amy had came up behind them, and she had skidded to a halt, and was looking at his horns.

"Your… you're a Faunus?" Bethany said.

"It took you long enough to notice. I had thought that after everything I have done, you would be smart enough to figure out why. But you are just humans after all. Pathetic humans."

He took a step forward, and Amy noticeable tensed, putting her hand to her weapon, ready in case he tried to strike any of them.

_Look at them. Standing there in total shock and horror. As if they've never seen a Faunus before…_

"What…how… I don't understand."

"You don't understand?! How stupid are you?! Humans have treated our kind like dirt, thrown them into dust mines, forced them to slave away for years upon years, and your saying you don't understand?!"

"No, no, I don't mean it like-"

"I don't care how you mean it. I've never cared about you, or Damion, or Samantha. And if you think that there is anyway to make me care, then I'm afraid your deluding yourselves. This is who I am. I am a Faunus, born into a life of hatred and suffering. And I have no reason to stay here, at Beacon."

"Well then why did you come here?" Damion said. "Why would you come here to simple brood on your own, and to treat your team like trash?"

"That is none of your concern. You have no right to question me. Be grateful I don't feel like killing you where you stand." He turned around, looked back at them for a brief moment, and then began to walk. Slowly, and deliberately, his head held high, he walked towards the gates that would take him out of Beacon. He had no remorse, no regrets, he should have never come here, and cursed himself for thinking it was a good idea.

_I should have never taken up this assignment... What is Adam going to say? _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Lucy ducked underneath a blow that would have taken her head off, and followed it up with a elbow to the face of the guy who had tried it. She cast a quick glance towards Gale, who was standing behind all of the men, firing potshots.

_Coward. Absolute coward. _

She was going to kill him when they were done with all these men, quickly, brutally, and efficiently.

Another guy came up behind her, knife out and ready to strike, and she lowered her back slightly so it went right over her head, grabbed it, and slashed him in the stomach, breaking his aura, and she then booted him in the head, knocking him out.

She caught a glance of a parasol being unfolded as Neo took out several of the men at the same time with a quickness and agility that only she was capable of. A chain wrapped itself around the neck of another one, as Luna choked out another one.

Sprinting towards them, Lucy grabbed a guy who had tried to sneak up on Roman by his neck, and hurled him to the side with strength that even she didn't realise she was capable of. She couldn't see Daniel, but she could hear the familiar sound of his guns, the familiar sound of Death's Grace banging off weapons, the yells of those he dispatched. Stepping to the side, she spun her foot around and roundhouses kicked another unfortunate soul in the head.

A sudden shot from Gale forced her to roll to the side, and the two of them locked eyes for a moment before she rushed towards him, jumping up into the air and bringing down her knives, intending to stab his eyes out, but a sudden brute of a man came charging in from the side, catching her by the leg and slamming her down into the floor, and all the breath was knocked out of her as he spun her around and threw her into a nearby wall, and she could hear the wall cracking as her body met it. Looking up, she saw the man was massive, easily seven foot at least, wielding a massive battle axe.

"Ah, so you are the girl who helped kill Magnus. It will be fun-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, as Daniel struck him in the face with the hilt of his sword, staggering him for a second. Lucy jumped back up to her feet and slid beneath his legs, holding both her knifes out, and the man was brought down to his knees, and Daniel jumped over his head and brought his fist up, uppercutting him in the face, and he fell back, right into Lucy who stabbed him in the back, quite literally, and the man fell over with a massive thud.

"Incoming!" Both Daniel and Lucy ducked as Roman fired a shot at Gale, and it struck him square in the chest, sending him sprawling over the couch's.

More of the ShiverBane men from other areas of the base had heard what was going on, and had came racing to help, so it was proving very difficult to isolate Gale out.

Two men came up behind Daniel, and he took them both out by backhanding them in the face. Lucy looked to the side to see more men coming towards them.

_I wonder where Zane is? _Wasn't he supposed to be the leader of ShiverBane? Shouldn't he be here too?

There was no time to dwell on that though, as these guys weren't just going to take themselves out. Lucy ran towards them, and a chain whipped itself around the man in front, as his weapon was disarmed and Luna kicked him in the stomach, and Lucy ran past her and swiped her daggers around in a circle, knocking everybody down, and Luna finished most of them off by either kicking them in the head or punching them in the face. Lucy turned herself around and kicked one more in the face, and she lowered herself down as Luna whipped her chain over her head, jumping over her back and taking out another one.

Looking behind her, Lucy noticed that Neo and Roman had managed to get the jump on Gale, and with no one around to protect him, this seemed a perfect time to strike.

To give credit where credit was due, Gale was doing a fairly good job at evading most of there attacks. However, he couldn't dodge forever, as shown by the fact that Neo cartwheeled over his strike, followed up by a strike to the face by Roman, and Neo sliced him in the leg, causing him to fall over. Lucy then noticed Daniel walking towards him with a whole row of unconscious bodies behind him.

_Time to kill this douchebag. _

She sauntered over towards them.

"It's over Gale." Daniel put his sword to his throat. "Give up now and I'll spare your life." Lucy stared at Daniel.

_Oh hell no. We are not sparing him. _She fidgeted with her daggers for a second, and knelt down next to Gale, who appeared to be chuckling.

"Oh Daniel. You have the body of a adult, yet the mind of a child. Sparing me will do you no good. I will simply break out and come after you again."

"Well, guess we'll just have to take you out again." Daniel shrugged. "It's not very hard."

"Daniel, me and you, we aren't so different you know. We are both criminals, sought after by the police-" He suddenly starting biting his lip extremely hard, as Lucy was forcing her daggers down into his hand, drawing a thick line of blood.

"He is nothing like you." She whispered into his ear. "And he may be willing to spare you, but I'm not."

Daniel looked towards her. "What did you just-"

The next motion happened so quickly, Daniel couldn't have stopped her. Standing up straight, she bent over and slashed him in the face, right over the eyes.

His resulting yell of pain gave her great pleasure.

"Lucy?! What the hell?!" Daniel backed away in shock as he stared down at Gale, who's eyes had just been gouged out. She ignored his startled look, and bent down over Gale.

"You bitc-!" He didn't get to finish his statement, as she put her daggers to his throat, cutting him off.

"I can't exactly say it's been nice knowing you Gale." She raised her daggers up, preparing to stab them down into his throat.

"Whoa, whoa, Lucy, that's enough!" Daniel grabbed her by the arm and began hauling her away. She didn't fight back, didn't try and resist him, she simply stared down at Gale, who was crawling away, his hand over his now non existent eyes. Roman, Neo and Luna were just standing there, looking at him.

"That's the least you deserve." Lucy said. Daniel was still holding her back, worried that if he let go, she would just attempt to do the same thing again.

Gale had managed to stand up, and was backing up, closer and closer to the back window of the building. Without another word, he lost his balance, tripping and suddenly went flying out the back window with a almighty crash of glass, and he was gone from sight within seconds.

"Well, that's that problem sorted." Lucy wrenched herself free from Daniel's grip and walked away, with Roman and Neo following her.

Daniel was staring out the window that Gale had just fallen out of, and Luna walked over to his side.

"Why did you look so… shocked that she did that? I mean, Gale was a associate of Magnus, and I'm sure your aware of how she feels about him. And why did you pull her away?"

Daniel wasn't really listening, too caught up in his own thoughts. Without saying anything, he turned around and walked away. Luna followed after him.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Welp, out goes Gale. I shall refuse to comment on whether he is truly dead or not, although it would be extremely difficult to survive going out a window. But then again, this is fanfiction, anything can really happen. **

**Oh, and in other news, Alan is a faunus. Give yourself a pat on the back if you theorised that. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day!**


	22. Shall we dance?

**Chapter 22: Shall we Dance? **

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

It had been a few days since Alan had left, and this time, he had made it clear he wasn't coming back, and Bethany really wasn't in the mood to come to this dance, in fact, she wasn't in the mood to do anything at all. But she knew that Damion and Samantha would have wanted her to come, so she had went out shopping with them, bought a dress which she thought had looked nice, and that was that. She hadn't even bothered to look for a date, to look for a cute boy, she wasn't coming here with anyone, aside from her team. Not that she looked particularly seducing, in her long sapphire blue dress and high heeled boots of the same colour.

There was a long line of people waiting to get in, as the doors hadn't opened yet. Apparently, Team JNPR had helped with preparing for the event, something about team CFVY being late back from a mission or something. But really, she couldn't care less. Alan had practically invaded her mind these past few days. Damion had just told her to forget about him, and move on, but that was proving to be rather difficult.

_Why didn't I do more to help him? Why wouldn't he just talk to me? Why- _

"Someone seems a bit down." Bethany looked up to see Amy standing in front of her. She was wearing a long sleeveless aqua green dress which trailed down to the ground, and a pair of black high heeled shoes. She looked really stunning.

_Of course she does, this is Amy Ivankeo we're talking about here. _

"Oh, uh, hey Amy."

"Where are Damion and Samantha? Not here yet?"

"No, they're still getting ready. I said I would go on and wait for them."

"Ah, okay. So, who are you coming with?"

"Nobody. I haven't got a date."

"Oh, really? I would think all the boys would be straight up your alley."

"I guess not. What about you then?"

"Nah, I haven't got a date either. Although I have had some pretty… shall we say, lingering looks thrown my way." She looked over to where a boy with blue hair, dressed in a suit was standing and looking at her. She winked at him, and he looked away again.

"Not that I would date underage boys. That would be weird."

"Is Lily coming too?"

"She most certainly is, but she said something about coming early to help them get set up. Then again, she never has been one for parties. Not a big fan of crowds. I'm not entirely sure she wants to be here."

"I'm not entirely sure I want to be here either."

"Still thinking about Alan?"

"You could say that."

"Seriously Beth, I just don't get why your still thinking about him. I mean, he slashed you along your stomach for goodness sake. It's clear he didn't care, it's clear he didn't want to be here. Just let him go."

"It's just... I feel like I could have done more to help him."

"You can't do much to help a person who didn't want to be helped."

"That's not even the worst bit. The worst bit is that Damion and Samantha just don't seem to care."

"I honestly can't blame them. If one of my teammates was moody, antisocial, and literally challenged a teacher, and then proceeded to stab my leader, I'm not sure I would care about them either."

"But... he was a Faunus."

"That doesn't excuse anything. Do people excuse Adam Taurus for killing loads of human's just because he's a Faunus? No, I don't think so."

"But maybe I could have done something! Maybe I could have got through to him!"

Any put her hand on Bethany's shoulder. "I'll say the same thing again. Alan didn't want to be helped. If we are to assume that he's been treated as badly as some other Faunus, he was already gone, there was no helping him."

"But why would he come to Beacon then, a place populated by humans?"

"Now that, I don't have a answer to. Oh, here comes Damion and Samantha." Bethany looked around her and saw her two teammates. Damion was dressed in a simple black suit and tie, while Samantha was wearing a crimson red dress, stopping just below her knee, decorated with black symbols over it, as well as a pair of matching high heels.

"Hi guys." Samantha said. "You both look really nice."

"Likewise." Amy replied. "I am telling you both, the boys are going to be flocking in numbers to both of you. I'm not so sure about Damion though." She looked him up and down. "Seems a bit boring."

"Hey, there aren't a whole lot of choices for suits!"

"Regardless, the black might be a bit boring. I'm not too sure many girls dig the brown hair black suit look."

"Literally everyone is wearing black."

"Very true. So anyway, are you two going with each other, or what's the deal there?"

"No." Samantha said before Damion could even open his mouth. "We are not going with each other."

"Ah, okay. I'm sure you could still share a dance or two though."

"I can't dance." Damion said. "I would probably injure my partner if I tried to."

"It's not that hard."

"Maybe for you, miss multi talented, but I'm afraid it's pretty hard for me."

"Seriously though, you just move yourself in a nice choreographed pattern, making sure to keep in time with the music, and you'll be grand. It's just like fighting, except in dancing, you aren't trying to hurt the person standing in front of you."

"Okay then, I understand that you are all ladies, and find dancing extremely easy, but I am a man, and men are not as capable on the dance floor as women are."

"Aw." Amy leant forward and patted him on the head. "Don't worry Damion. I'm sure you'll learn some day. Maybe your teammates can teach you how to." She motioned to Bethany and Samantha.

"Hey, I think we can go in now." Bethany said. The doors had opened and people had began to flood in.

They all began to walk towards it, entering into the hall, which was already crowded with people.

"Remember, this is the last day before your missions start." Amy said to them. "So make sure you enjoy yourselves, okay? I'm off to find Lily, I'll see you guys later." She disappeared into the crowd, leaving Bethany, Damion and Samantha standing there.

"Uh, so what do we do now?" Bethany asked.

"Well, it is a party, so let's find something to eat, then we, uh, dance?" Damion said. He shrugged and they began making their way through the crowds of people.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Train carts?"

"Check."

"Weapons for the White Fang?"

"Check."

"Highly explosive bombs ready to blow?"

"Check." Daniel and Roman were counting off all the things they needed for running the train into Vale.

"I think that's everything." Daniel said as they watched the White Fang unload more stuff.

"So, do we ride this thing into Vale now?"

"Don't see why-" Roman's scroll began to buzz. He took it out and held it up to his ear. "Hello?" Daniel looked to the side and saw Lucy talking to Luna. He wasn't sure how he felt about Lucy killing Gale. On the one hand, he was a associate of Magnus, the man who caused much of the pain and suffering she had endured. On the other hand, was it really necessary?

_Maybe not for you, but for her, it probably was. _

But then why had he held her back? Why had he tried to stop her killing him? Was it simply adrenaline? Instinct? Did he think that she shouldn't have killed him? But why would he think that? Did he think his death was unnecessary?

_Gale said it himself. He would come after you again, he needed to die. _

So then why couldn't he accept that? Why was there this feeling that he should have stopped her sooner? Why did he have this feeling that Gale didn't have to die?

"So, uh, according to Cinder we have to wait a few days apparently." Roman took him out of his thoughts.

"Why exactly?"

"I don't know! She's the boss, I don't question her!"

"Maybe that's the problem. We don't ask her enough questions. I feel like we are entitled to know more about her big bad evil plan. If we did, maybe killing her wouldn't be so hard, because we would know everything."

"Speaking of which, how do you plan to get information to me about our plan to kill Cinder when I'm going to be sitting in a cell?"

"Oh, that's right, you have to get captured, don't you?"

"Yeah. Bit annoying really, I don't fancy sitting in a cell. Not my ideal way to pass the time."

"Understandable."

Daniel's scroll began to vibrate. He took it out and checked what it was. It was a message from Amy.

_Hey, do you remember the Beacon dance? _

_Well, yes, I do. _

_Guess what I'm at right now? _

_I don't know. That clue you gave me in the first text was far too subtle. It could be anything. _

There was then a picture sent, of Amy with her arm around Lily, standing in front of what appeared to be a punch bowl.

"Is that Amy and Lily?" Roman peered over his shoulder.

"Yes."

"They are two of the most gorgeous looking women I think I've ever seen. You are one lucky man Daniel. You are practically surrounded by women. I'm jealous."

"Trust me Roman. Being surrounded by women is not as great you think it is. They tend to be very…"

"Overprotective? Neo is very protective of me, so I can't even imagine what it's like for you."

"That's certainly one way of putting it. My team were very protective of me at Beacon, and Lucy is also very protective of me." Daniel put his scroll away.

"Who mentioned my name?" Lucy and Luna came striding over.

"Nothing. We were just talking about how Dan is surrounded by women who all care about him very much, and are very protective of him." Roman said.

"Oh yeah, definitely. Nobody hurts my Danny Boy and gets away with it."

"Amy and Lily would probably say the exact same thing." Daniel sighed.

"But he's very protective of his women, so it all evens out."Lucy said.

"I'm not "very" protective."

"Well, look on the bright side" Roman clapped him on the shoulder. "At least you've got… four choices for a girlfriend if your really desperate."

"Lily's my sister Roman." Daniel put his face in his hands.

"Three choices then."

"Amy wouldn't marry me, she would say something cheesy like "Your like a brother to me." And Lucy would probably say the exact same thing."

"What about Luna then?"

"Uhh" Daniel looked down at Luna, who had suddenly turned her head away from him. "Yeah, I think that's a no too."

"Okay, zero choices then. I stand corrected."

"You could always meet a new girl." Lucy suggested.

"I don't need any more girls. I have quite enough."

"Always room for one more."

"My sanity has already been deprived, I don't need it to be destroyed anymore."

Lucy smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "You're the only thing keeping my sanity intact."

Daniel looked down at her, and looked at Roman and Luna.

_Oh Lucy, how could I ever be mad at you? _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_Come on, where are they?_

Damion was in a predicament. He did actually want to dance, really badly. With either Samantha or Bethany. But there was a problem. Not the fact that he didn't know how to dance, but they had both gone missing on him in a desperate search for something to drink.

_Where are- Oh, there they are. _

Well, one of them at least. He caught a flash of pink hair at the edge of the crowd, and shoved his way through towards it.

_Dear me, there are a lot of people here. Why would they pile everyone in here at the same time? _

There was actually a lot of room, it's just that Damion seemed to like to put himself in a position where he was getting squashed alive. Pulling himself through, he walked over to Bethany, who was sitting at a table with a drink in her hand, staring out the window.

_How can someone look so beautiful and so unbelievably miserable at the same time? _

"Hey, are you alright?"

"W-What? Oh, yeah, sure, I'm fine."

"Bethany" He sat down across from her. "I know in the grand scheme of things that we haven't known each other for that long, but don't pull the "I'm fine" card on me, whenever I can clearly see that you are not fine. It's about Alan isn't it?"

"Maybe." She sniffled a bit. "I just think-"

"Don't say it. "I should have done more to help him." There is nothing you could have-"

"Don't say that! Amy said the same thing, and your both wrong!" She slammed her drink onto the table and took a shaky breath. "Your both wrong."

Damion stood up and walked around to her. He offered her a hand. "Maybe a dance would make you feel a bit better?" She stared at his open palm.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance."

"Well, in that case, you'll get a good laugh from me stumbling around." He smiled down at her. She stared up at him, and then took his hand. He lead her onto the dance floor as the music changed to a soft piano tune.

_Okay Damion, just focus on not stepping on her toes, and we should be fine. _

Very slowly, they began to dance. The piano continued to play as Damion focused entirely on not falling over.

_You can do this, you can do this...Step left, then step right, then step left, then step right. Ah, this isn't so bad. _

He looked to the side, and recognised Samantha immediately, standing there in her crimson red dress, matching her hair really nicely. He was really regretting not looking for a nicer suit.

And in that brief moment of distraction, he accidentally stumbled. Stumbled briefly, and tumbled over backwards, letting go of Bethany so she wouldn't go tumbling down with him. He hit a nearby table with the back of his head, and crashed to the floor.

_That wasn't in the plan. _

Now, he had just made a fool of himself.

"Oh god, Damion, are you okay?" Bethany was bent over him, and she put a hand around his back.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I think." He stood back up. "Sorry."

"No, your okay. Your fine. I... I was actually kind of enjoying that. If you don't want to do it again-"

"Nah, let's try it again. I think I've got it this time." They took to the dance floor again.

_Just do the same thing, but don't look at anyone else. _

They began to dance again. The same piano tune was playing in the background, and he made sure that this time, he didn't stumble or trip.

_This.. this is really nice._

He didn't remember ever actually dancing with a girl before, nor did he remember ever being this close to one before aside from his mum, so close that there skin was touching, so close that he could practically feel her breath on her neck, so close that-

_Whoa, whoa, slow down there a bit. Your not here to try and seduce her, or confess your eternal love for her. Your just trying to make her feel a bit better. Don't get ahead of yourself. _

But that didn't stop it from being a nice feeling. He was enjoying himself a lot. Dancing really wasn't as hard as he had made it out too be. Amy had been right.

They continued like that for a few minutes, bodies moving with the music, in a nice simple motion, nothing too complicated. They didn't try anything fancy, no twirls or anything like that. Just a nice simple motion...

Damon's peaceful mood was disturbed when he felt something wet on his shoulder. Confused, he looked down. He noticed what it was very quickly.

Bethany was crying. She had practically buried her face into his shoulder, and tears were running down her face.

"Beth, what's wrong?" They had stopped moving now, and he was quickly taking her away from everyone else. Samantha had noticed what was going on, and rushed over.

"Hey, what happened? Damion, what-"

"I don't know." He let go of her and she practically fell back into a chair, head in hands, crying.

"Bethany?" Samantha knelt down in front of her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I-I don't, I don't understand, why Alan just left."

"Because he didn't think he belonged here."

"That can't just be it! Why wouldn't he let me help him? Why did he, why did he..." She looked down at herself, and ran her hands along the area he had slashed her.

"Oh Bethany." Samantha drew her into a hug, and began rubbing her hand up and down her back. "You need to understand. Alan is gone and he's not coming back. There's nothing we can do about that."

"And besides" Damion said. "Maybe it's for the best that he left before he hurt someone else."

"I-I suppose. I just wish that I could have helped him become a better person. He was a Faunus, and he was so hateful and spiteful of everyone, aside from other Faunus, like when he would talk with Blake."

"Welp, he's gone now. All we can do is accept that we couldn't do anything." Damion said.

"Yeah, I guess your right." She lowered her head down, her hair falling over her face. Samantha kept her hand on her back, rubbing it gently.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"I am getting so nostalgic right now, it's not even funny." Amy was sitting next to Lily on one of the many chairs sitting around the place. Lily was wearing the long black dress that they had bought when they were out with Daniel and Lucy. "This reminds me so much of when we were attending here."

"Agreed. The dance was always really fun."

"I thought you weren't a fan of crowds."

"I'm… not, but you're here, so it's fine."

"Aww." Amy drew her into a friendly headlock. "Always nice to know my company is appreciated."

"You have a real effect on people, you know?"

"Of course I know that!" She ruffled her hair affectionately and let her go. "Especially on the people I care about. You want to know something?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really surprised none of the male students, especially the older ones, haven't asked me to dance with them." She looked around the hall.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm not trying to be egotistical or anything, but I reckon I look really nice. Definite crush for most seventeen to twenty one year old boys. Loads of them have been staring at me, but none of them have asked to dance."

"Maybe because a student dancing with teacher would be rather… inappropriate?"

"Maybe if it was a fifty year old something teacher, but I'm not that much older than the students. What about you?" She leaned over and put her arm around Lily. "If one of those males were to walk up to you and say "Lily Silva, may I have the honour of dancing with such a lovely women like yourself?", what would you say?"

"I would politely decline. Knowing you, you would probably accept."

"That depends."

"This is you were talking about."

"True."

_Oh baby, it's time to make up your mind- _

"Hey, look down there." Lily pointed. "There's a dance going on. Like, a proper team dance."

Amy looked down. "Why is that guy wearing a dress?" She was referring to Jaune Arc, who was currently pulling off a really well done synchronised dance.

"Good question."

"People are clapping for them? That's the worst dance I've ever seen."

"Reckon you could do better?"

"I think I might put my money where my mouth is." Amy stood up and set her drink down. "Don't touch that and don't look away." She grinned at Lily. "You are not going to want to miss this." Amy began to walk towards the jukebox that was set up in the corner, which was connected to the speakers, and music was blaring from them. Literally no one seemed to notice this jukebox, and just let whatever terrible songs there were play. It was a bit questionable as to why they would just leave it out for people to mess around with, but this was Beacon, the same school where you could smash the canteen up, and no one would bat a eye.

_Get that stupid lovey dovey stuff off. _She began to mess around with the channels, and there was several different changes in music all of a sudden, leading to a whole load of confusion in the room.

_And... there we go. _She switched it round to a upbeat jazz song with a pretty catchy tune. She then turned around and noticed that several people were looking at her. Smirking at them, she walked straight into the middle of the dance floor.

_Time to steal this show. _

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

_What's she going to do? _Lily was watching from the question of what Amy was going to do was a rhetorical one. She knew exactly what she was going to do. And there was a part of Lily that secretly hoped she tripped and fell on her face. That would be funny.

Amy was going to start dancing with all these people watching her. Lily admired that, the fact she was willing to do that despite the risk of public embarrassment if she did mess it up.

_But you know she's not going to mess it up. _This was Amy after all. She was near perfect, and Lily was extremely jealous of that. Amy was everything that Lily wasn't. Good looking, sassy, witty, and a constant drive to do the most dorky things, not caring about what anybody thought of her. The best thing about it was, she didn't even act all smarmy about it. Amy knew that she was all these things, yet, she didn't put other people down because of it. Behind that sarky, smartass attitude lay a generally kind and caring person who only wanted the best for her friends.

_And her students. _Lily looked to the side to see Bethany, Damion, and Samantha. Bethany had her head in her hands, and Samantha had her arm around her. Damion was standing next to them.

_Poor Bethany. She must still be thinking about Alan… _

That ungrateful wretch. It wasn't the fact that he had challenged her, it was the fact that he then had the nerve to literally cut his own team leader. But he was gone now, and that's all that mattered.

Casting a final glance at Amy, who was standing in the middle of a crowd of people, Lily began to make her way over to the three of them. She had hoped to just stand in her original position for basically the entire dance, but she wanted to check that Bethany was okay, and besides, it would be great to see their reactions to what Amy was about to do.

_Aw man. I hate this part. _She tried to shimmy her way through the crowd of people, and bumped into someone immediately.

"Sorry!" He didn't even acknowledge her. She then walked backwards into some other women.

"Oh, sorry!" This was literally so bad. She hated this so much! Luckily, she managed to pull her way through with minimal fuss. She walked over to Damion.

"Is she…okay?"

"I dunno. I guess Alan leaving effects her more than we thought it would."

"Maybe. Hey guys, look over at where Amy is." She pointed over to where Amy was standing. Samantha casted her gaze over, and Bethany raised her head. From where they were sitting, they had a pretty clear view of her.

"Why? What is she going to do?" Lily smiled at Damion.

"Your about to find out." They continued to watch as Amy started to dance.

She started off by sliding her front foot forward, and putting her other foot in front of it, and continued that motion for a few steps, albeit in a very dramatic fashion. The music continued as she threw her arms out in a very exuberant manner and spun around in a circle. It was very well choreographed and delivered in a really fancy and over the top way. Everyone seemed memorised by it. Lily sighed and put her hand on her hip.

_That's my Amy. _

She continued throwing her arms out in a manner of different ways, and moving about the area she was in. Her hair was flying about her face like it had taken on a life of it's own, and she ran her hand through it at one point really slowly. It was all so melodramatic, and that's what made it so enjoyable. The music really added to it, as the beat seemed to match every little move she made, even something as simple as a flick of the hand.

"Where did she learn to dance like that?" Damion was in shock and awe.

Doing a one eighty degree turn, Amy then began moonwalking. In high heels. Now that was something all together. How she did that was a whole different topic of it's own. People had begun to cheer loudly.

Spinning on her feet, she threw her arms out to the side, and then leaned over backwards, hands by her side, face pointing up to the sky, and flicked her hair so it hung all over her face. Straightening herself up, she then lifted up her arms and pointed to the side, and stayed in that position for a moment.

"Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what you call a dance." She announced loudly. Everyone began clapping like mad and cheering. She bowed, and then made her way through the crowd towards Lily and the others.

"That was amazing!" Damion threw his arms up in the air.

"Thanks. I've wanted to do something like that for a long time." She grinned at him and looked over to Bethany and Samantha.

"You alright Beth?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I wish I could dance like that."

"How do you moonwalk in high heels?!" Damion was simple astounded.

"Like how you would moonwalk in any other shoes?"

"But… they have that pointy bit on the bottom. I don't think it would really work."

"Are you a girl? Do you wear high heels?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Exactly. You can't say anything about how it wouldn't work because you don't wear them."

"I don't know." Samantha said. "I do think it would be extremely difficult."

"Oh yeah, no doubt. You would probably break your ankles if you try. It's taken several years, several tumbles and bruises, but I did eventually manage to learn it."

"That is some dedication." Damion commented.

"It sure is." Amy and Damion continued to talk while Lily turned to Bethany.

"Hey, are you sure your alright?"

"I…" Bethany sighed. "What's even the point in telling you? Your just going to say the same thing Damion and Amy said to me. Alan didn't care, you should just let him go, bla bla bla, there's nothing you could have done."

"Bethany, look at me." She raised her head and looked at Lily. "I know what it's like to feel as if you didn't do enough to help one of your teammates. I know what it feels like to watch them walk away and know there's nothing you can do to bring them back."

_Especially when that person is your brother… _But at least Lily had got Daniel back. Bethany was probably never going to get the opportunity to see Alan again, to try and understand him.

Lily gingerly reached forward and put her arms around Bethany, drawing her into a hug. She looked over to the side and saw that Damion had attempted to do the moonwalk, and Amy had to basically catch him as he failed miserably and toppled over backwards. Samantha was pointing at him and laughing.

"What is most important is that you remember that there are still people here who care about you, and I'm sure will be more than happy to help you. It's going to be hard, but in times like these, this is when you find the people who care about you the most."

The window behind them revealed the sky, the broken moon shining bright in the sky.

"The people who will keep moving forward and won't leave you behind."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**I just noticed the other day that the Volume 7 finale will be going up on the 5****th ****anniversary of Monty's death. Not sure whether it's a coincidence or they planned it like that, but the finale of this volume is going to be big, I can guarantee that. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	23. Heading out

**Chapter 23: Heading Out**

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"So, uh, what do we take with us?" Damion, Bethany and Samantha were standing in their dormitory, pondering what they were going to take onto their mission. Each student was allowed to bring a small bag containing any necessary supplies.

"We don't have to take anything with us if we don't want to. Besides, what else are we going to need aside from our weapons?" Samantha said.

"A bit of extra dust couldn't hurt." Bethany said, picking up a few crystals of fire and ice dust. "Apart from that-"

Damion was filling up a water bottle and held it up. "How about the very essence of life itself? Making sure we don't get dehydrated? How's that for a idea?"

Bethany and Samantha both pulled out small water flasks.

"Okay then. That should be us then. Hopefully at least. This is going to be great! We get to go off our first mission with a professional huntsmen or huntress!"

"I hope we wind up with Amy or Lily." Samantha said.

"I'm sure they would be more than willing to tell us their missions. After all, we are their favourite students." Damion stated.

"Do you really think so?"

"Well, uh, yeah. We are the one's they spend the most time with and stuff, so, I think that's a fair assumption to make."

Damion and Samantha walked out the door. Bethany took a final scan around their dorm room.

_Well, if we forget anything, I'm sure our huntsmen or huntress will have some stuff with them. At least I hope so… _

Shrugging inwardly, she went after her team. She thought back to last night, the dance… She stared at Damion, who was talking excitedly to Samantha about what mission they might go on.

"Maybe we'll get to hunt a giant Grimm! Or, uh, what other kinds of mission are there?"

"Well" Samantha said. "There's Search and Destroy…" Samantha began listing off the different missions available to them. Bethany wasn't really listening. She remembered how she had basically began bawling into Damion's shoulder, quite embarrassing indeed. However, he hadn't seemed to mind, which she was very thankful for.

And then there was what Lily had said to her…

_I know what it feels like to watch them walk away and know you can't do anything to bring them back…_

Before Alan had left, Amy had told them about how Nicole had died, and Daniel had pretty much went mad about it. She hadn't thought about that much, due to what Alan was doing, but she wondered what it was like to know that your teammate, someone you trusted, had taken a very dark path.

_I wonder if they still care about him. _

If somewhere in there hearts, they held some love for their former teammate. If they had ever encountered him.

Raising her head, she saw they were nearly at the hall, where Professor Ozpin was due to give a speech.

_No time to think about that. Just focus on your mission._

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Amy was standing with her back propped up against a wall, on the stage where Ozpin would soon be giving his speech. Lily was away talking with Glynda about something. She hadn't told Amy what, and simply told her "I'll tell you when I get back."

Amy ran a hand through her hair, and watched as the students walked into the hall. She was honoured to have been chosen as one of the huntresses to lead the first years on their first missions. She already knew which mission she was on.

A expedition into a small village in the North of Vale, a village called Eika. There had been several disappearance's around that area lately, and there was no real clues as to who or what had taken or killed them.

_Detective work. Shouldn't be the most boring thing in the world. _

She knew that most first years would have a very glorified version of missions, killing giant Grimm, saving cities and towns from hordes of them. Unfortunately, that wasn't all there was.

Amy knew that this probably wasn't fair of her, but she was secretly hoping that she would get Bethany, Damion and Samantha as her students. Not necessarily because she would admit to caring about them more than the general student population, but also because they had just lost a teammate. Whether he was a complete jerk or not, that was still a hard hit to take. One less person to watch your back if something went wrong. Most huntsmen and huntresses didn't know what that was like. She did.

Then again, Alan probably would have only watched his own back, never mind anyone else's. She knew that Bethany in particular held strong feelings for him leaving, Damion and Samantha had both just kind of shrugged it off.

She looked through the crowd of students, and was immediately able to pick them out. Bethany's pink hair was probably the main reason why she was able to. Damion and Samantha were talking to each other, and Bethany was looking around the hall, and caught sight of Amy. Amy waved at her, and she waved back, albeit with much less enthusiasm than Amy would have expected from a student going off on their first mission.

_I mean, if you really want them as your students, you could just tell them what your mission is. _

That would require her to find them amongst all these students when they went to pick their missions, which was the hard part.

"Today we stand together, united-" Amy nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden loudness of Ozpin's voice. She hadn't seen him walk up onto the stage to the microphone. Amy Ivankeo, slayer of some of the most powerful Grimm in the world, scared by a old man walking up and speaking into a microphone. Simply fantastic.

_Ah, now this is the really boring bit. _

Never mind going off on boring missions, hearing him waffle on about the Great War, the idea of individualism, the fact that people began naming their children after colours…

_Not everyone follows that._

There were plenty of people who weren't named after colours. She was one of them. Unless there was some secret meaning she had never bothered to find out about, Amy was not a colour.

Ozpin continued to drone on and on and on and on…

_Man, I know this stuff is important, but come on! _

She had heard this speech several times, and it wasn't any more interesting. She noticed that Damion seemed to be feeling the exact same way, as he was constantly whispering to Samantha, who elbowed him in the ribs. He then looked over at Amy, and then she had a idea.

_Let's hope he can lip read. _

She lifted her hand and pointed right next to her, and mouthed "I'll meet you here." He leaned forward, and raised his hand to his ear in a "Say that again" gesture. She mouthed it again, pointing next to her again. He nodded and gave her a thumbs up, just as Samantha elbowed him in the ribs again.

_I really hope he read that right. _He might have thought she was saying something completely different.

"Remember to stay safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." Ozpin walked off stage to a uproar of applause. Students began to move into the room where the panels to select the missions were set up.

Amy patiently waited for them to come up. Luckily, Damion's lip reading abilities weren't too bad, as he pointed to her, and the three of them walked up to her.

"So, I assume you three want me as your huntress?" Amy spread her arms out.

"Well, uh, we would like to, yes. But, it's not guaranteed." Damion said.

"But I know what mission I'm going to go on, so therefore I can tell you, unless you don't want me to."

"Oh, no, that would be very helpful actually."

"Well" Amy gestured to behind her. "What are we waiting for then?" She lead them over to the panels, where there were several missions laid out. It provided a name, as well as a description.

_Search and Rescue_

_Grimm Infestation_

Amy continued to scroll down, until she came across a mission which was titled _Disappearance's in Eika. _

_There have been reports of disappearances in Eika, a village in the North of Vale. The villagers suspect it may be Grimm, however, dead bodies have been reported with none of the usual marks that you would expect from a Grimm attack. There may be something more sinister going on. _

"There you are."

"Oh, well, that's great then!" Damion pushed on it, and it came up to enter there team name. Bethany began to type it in, and then hesitated when she came to hit the A. She looked at Amy.

"Do I put it in, or do I leave it out?"

"Well, Alan never actually announced his resignation from Beacon, so he would probably technically still be a part of the team in Beacon's files. I would reckon you should probably put it in."

Bethany nodded, and then put the A and the S in. When that was done, it came up _Mission Accepted. _

"Right, so, I'm glad you all seem ready to go, because this is one of the missions that starts today."

"Today?"

"Yeah, some of them start today, some of them start tomorrow, some of them are later than that."

"So, when are we going then?" Samantha asked.

"We are leaving in about…" Amy took out her scroll and checked the time. "Fifteen minutes. We should go and wait outside."

_Where is Lily? I want to see her before we go… _Bethany, Damion and Samantha had already began to make there way outside. Amy followed after them, and soon they came to the area where the bullhead would be landing to take them to Eika.

"So, how are you guys feeling for your first mission?"

"I mean, so long as none of us die, or get injured, we should be fine!" Damion exclaimed. Both Bethany and Samantha glared at him.

"That doesn't exactly convince me your feeling confident." Amy said. "But, alright then."

"Oh no, I'm very confident. Confident that something is definitely going to go wrong!"

"Damion, shut up." Samantha said. "We're going to be fine."

"Well, to be fair, we are down one teammate." Damion pointed out. "That's one less person to help out." He looked at Bethany, who was staring off into the distance.

"Technically, we do only have four people." Amy said. "But, in reality, we actually do have five, because I'm worth two people I'm that cool." She grinned at them.

"I can't really argue with that." Damion said.

"I wonder what's happened to those people." Bethany said suddenly. They all looked at her. "I hope there okay…"

"So do I." Amy said. "But unfortunately, we can't guarantee that they'll be okay. Something really bad could have happened. We can only hope."

"I guess so…"

"Hey, guys!" Lily had came over. Amy stood up and walked over to her.

"So, do you know what mission you are leading then?"

"Well… That's actually what I was talking to Glynda about. I'm not going to lead a mission."

"Oh, right. Fair enough."

"So, uh, where are you guys going then?"

"We're heading out to a small village in the North of Vale called Eika. Some disappearances have been reported around there."

"Grimm?"

Amy shrugged. "Presumably so. If it isn't the Grimm... then I don't know what it could be."

"Hey, be careful now, won't you be?"

"Lily, careful is my middle name. I'll be fine, they'll be fine-" She motioned to Bethany, Damion and Samantha, who were talking to each other.

"Just don't do anything stupid."

Amy raised a eyebrow. "What are you implying? That I do stupid things?"

"With all due respect, yes. No offence."

"None taken."

"How long do you think you'll be gone for?"

"Who knows? You know yourself that when it comes to these things, time is extremely unpredictable."

"Yeah, I know, it's just..." Lily sighed. "If anything were to happen to you-"

Amy reached down and wrapped her arms around Lily, embracing her. "I promise you, Lily, I'm going to be fine. I won't do anything stupid or dumb, like I know I can at times." Lily reached up and embraced her back. They stayed like that for a moment, before the sound of a bullhead landing was heard. Amy patted Lily on the back and let go.

"That'll be our ride then." She looked back and saw that team BDS had already begun to board it. She began to walk towards it, casting a final look at Lily.

"Best of luck!" She called out, before turning and beginning to walk back to the main building. Amy boarded the bullhead with the others, and it began to take off.

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"So, where exactly is Eika?" Samantha asked. They were in the air now, flying high above Vale.

"It's somewhere in the North of Vale. I couldn't tell you exactly where though." Amy said.

"Don't you have a map or something?" Damion asked.

"No, because we don't need one. Our pilot is the expert, he'll take us right there."

"Okay then!" Their pilot called out. "So I actually have to admit, I have no clue where Eika is."

Amy suddenly burst out laughing. "Now I don't usually like pilot's jokes, but that, that was a good one!"

"Uh, I wasn't joking." Amy stopped laughing.

"Wait, you were being serious?"

"Yes."

"So, where are we being left off then?"

"Your being set down in a area in the North of Vale, which I think is somewhere near Eika."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure though."

Amy groaned loudly. "Dear me, you are the most useless pilot I think I've ever seen."

"Hey, it's not my fault! I'm new to this job and I don't know this area of Vale!"

"Well, that's a problem." Amy turned to the other's. "I guess we should have brought a map then."

"You don't say." Damion muttered.

"Maybe there will be signs or something? A local we can ask?" Bethany suggested.

"It really depends on where our completely useless pilot" Amy raised her voice suddenly. "Decides to leave us off."

"Call me completely useless again and I'll set you down right now and kick you all off!"

"Don't you have a GPS or something you can use?" Samantha asked.

"If there's a GPS in this thing, I certainly haven't found it." He called back.

"Apologies guys." Amy said. "Guess we will be on this mission for a little longer than anticipated."

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

"Sir, Sir!" Two members of ShiverBane burst through the doors of the small hideout that Gale had provided for them. "We've just received word!"

Zane looked up at them. "Word of what?"

"It's Gale! He's been reported missing! We checked his building, all there is a broken window in one of the rooms, but we couldn't find a body!"

_That fool... _Daniel and Lucy must have got to him first. He had told him that playing that waiting game would cost them in the end, and he had been right. But of course, Gale hadn't listened to him. He was just like his old friend Magnus, self centred and arrogant.

"We were speaking to some of his men who we found unconscious, and they were saying about how one of our own was with them! Some girl with black and white hair, wearing a half mask!"

_Luna... _So that's where she had ended up. Not dead at Daniel and Lucy's hands, but instead, she had turned on their gang, turned on the place which had practically been her home, turned on him. It was disappointing, but he would have never have described her as loyal.

But there was no time to think about that now. No time to waste. If Daniel and Lucy had figured out where Gale was, it was only a matter of time before they came for him too, only a matter of time before they came banging on the front door. They had to leave now.

"Gather everyone up." He instructed them. "We need to leave Vale, tonight."

"Wait, why?"

"Why do you think? Daniel and Lucy have got Gale, there's no reason to think they won't be after us now too."

"But where will we go?"

"Mistral, Vacuo, maybe even Atlas, somewhere that isn't Vale."

"Got it." The two ShiverBane members rushed out and began shouting to everyone that they were leaving, and if no one wanted to be left behind, they should come to them immediately.

It was certainly a shame that Gale had died. He had provided them with this hideout, amongst other things. But Zane had never got the impression that Gale had really cared about them. He probably just saw ShiverBane as a pawn to be used in his grand plan to kill Daniel and Lucy, which he had obviously failed to achieve.

_For a man who hated them so much, it was quite surprising that he seemed to wanted to wait for the right opportunity to strike them down. We knew where they were, so why we didn't attack them immediately is odd. _

Gale had said his master plan was to wait until Daniel wasn't around, draw Lucy in, and then use her as a hostage, before killing them. It sounded like a good plan on paper, but it was clear that Gale made a mistake sending Luna, he had made a mistake convincing Gale that she was strong enough to scope them out on her own and possibly even capture one of them.

Zane honestly had no idea where they were going to go. He hadn't planned anything in advance in case he did want to leave. That was foolish of him.

He just had to hope for the best.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Just going to leave this Vol 5 reference here.**

**Amy: So do you know where Eika is? **

**Pilot: Officially, yes. Actually, no. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	24. Boots on the ground

**Chapter 24: Boots on the ground**

"Why are you guys even in this plot to destroy Beacon?" Luna asked Lucy as they walked along the base inside Mountain Glenn, passing a few White Fang members who were moving bombs and weapons.

"Well, Cinder approached us one day and basically just said "Hey, I want to destroy Beacon for some reason. Want to join?" And then Dan said no. But then Cinder said "Sorry, I'm afraid you don't have a choice, I'll kill Amy and Lily if you don't." Lucy then did a intimation of a evil laugh, which made Luna laugh.

"Sorry, but who are Amy and Lily?"

"Oh yeah, that's right. He never mentioned them to you back when we were with…" Lucy stopped for a moment, and sighed. "Magnus."

"No, he didn't."

"Well, to put it simply, Amy and Lily were his teammates at Beacon-"

"He attended Beacon?"

"Yeah, he didn't really want to be a huntsmen though. He left at the end of his graduation year. Lily's also his sister."

"Wait, he only had two teammates? Doesn't Beacon have four person teams?"

"Well, his other teammate, her name was Nicole, she died."

"Oh."

Lucy really didn't know that much about Nicole. Daniel rarely every talked about her, and even when he did, it was usually just a throw away line and then he would quickly change the subject if she asked anything about her.

"Does he ever mention her?"

"Very rarely. He doesn't like to talk about her, and I respect that."

Lucy came to a stop next to a box, presumably of weapons of some sort, and sat down on it. "I really worry about him though sometimes. I know he blames himself for Nicole's death, for leaving Amy and Lily behind."

"Why don't you talk to him about it then?"

"Because he always says that he's fine, but I know he's really not. He hides all his emotions behind a wall, and doesn't tell anyone how he's really feeling. And then when that wall breaks, it all comes out in a flurry of emotions, and he ends up upsetting someone, leading him to blame himself again for upsetting them, and it just repeats itself. It's a vicious cycle he's locked himself in. I am glad though that he's getting to see Amy and Lily again. At least that's one less thing he has to worry about."

"You must really care about him."

"Luna, it's more than that. I would die for him, I would do anything to make him happy. It's just… I wish he wouldn't always lock his emotions behind a wall and assume he can keep it all in."

"After Magnus died… Why didn't you two spend more time looking for me?" It was a sudden question, and it was one that completely caught Lucy off guard.

_Oh no, what do I say? _

"We did spend a bit of time looking for you, but we didn't find you, so we just kind of moved on. And we didn't even know ShiverBane existed, so…"

"No, it's fine. I know I'm not exactly the most memorable of people. I can understand why you wouldn't want me in your little… gang."

"No, Luna, it's not that, it's not that at all. It's just we…" She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? We should have tried to search for you more. I was just struggling with a lot of things after Magnus died, and Daniel was helping me, and we just sort of…"

"Forget about me?"

"No, we didn't forget about you. I don't know what it was. But you're here now, and that's all that matters."

Luna suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Lucy by the hand. "Your not going to leave me again, are you?" Lucy looked down at her hand, and realised that it seemed to be shaking very slightly. Lucy wrapped her hand around Luna's and squeezed it softly.

"I promise. And I'm sure Daniel would too." Luna let go of her and stepped back.

"I've never shown anyone this before." Luna said, and in one simple gesture, she reached up and pulled her half mask up. Back at Magnus' place, Lucy had occasionally wondered what was behind that mask.

But never in a million years would she have imagined it was going to be this bad.

"Holy crap…" Her right eye wasn't even there anymore. It was just a gaping black hole where it should have been. All around it was dried blood that should have been washed off years ago, but hadn't been.

"Please don't touch. It hurts a lot."

"Luna… That's… How…" Lucy was rendered utterly speechless.

_How did this happen? _A question which she was dying to ask, but was also very aware of the fact that whatever had happened must have been a traumatic experience. Lucy quickly looked around her to see if any of the White Fang were looking. Luckily, they seemed to be preoccupied with what they were doing.

"It was a cult. One of there members came into my house, killed my Mum and Dad,I tried to fight back and he gouged out my eye. He then took me to there place. I eventually managed to get out when I discovered my semblance."

"Luna..." Lucy put her arms around her and hugged her strongly. "That's awful. I'm so sorry."

Once she let go, she kept her hands on her shoulders, and looked her in the eye.

"They worshipped some... weird creature. I think she might have been a Grimm."

"She? Luna, Grimm don't have a-" Lucy stopped herself.

_Just let her talk. _

"I think this one did though, and they always referred to it as a female. I... I can still remember them talking about her. They talked about how she was their "God" and how she was going to "Set them free" and stuff like that. It was really weird."

"I can imagine. Do you remember what this... Grimm was called? Did it even have a name?"

"I do. After all this time, I haven't forgotten that name." Luna noticeable shuddered, and looked up at Lucy.

"The Cult of Akuji."

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

There pilot didn't even bother to say goodbye or wish them good luck as he took off. The comments Amy had made had seemed to put him in a remarkably bad mood. He had left them in a section of Vale which he thought was somewhere near Eika. Key word being thought.

So, essentially, they were now stuck in some place and had no idea where they were supposed to go. Samantha looked around for any visible sign posts, but couldn't find any.

_Well, isn't that just great. _

There was a path stretching out before them, and it seemed to go on for miles. There was nothing in the distance, aside from a few trees and fields either side of the path.

"Which direction do we go in?" Damion said. "Left or right?" He pointed in both directions.

"We will go…" Amy held up her finger and looked left and right." Right, because right is always right."

"That's not exactly a great justification." Bethany said.

"It's good enough for me." Amy began to walk down the path. They watched her go for a brief second before following after her.

"So our first official task as Huntsmen is to walk down a path." Damion stated. "Not the most exciting thing in the world if I do say so myself."

"You don't say." Samantha said to him. "We don't even know if we are going the right way."

Amy turned around and face them while walking backwards. "Unfortunately, taking up the job of a Huntsmen or Huntress does not just mean killing Grimm. You also have to do stuff like this. Travelling is a big part of the job."

"I think I would like that." Bethany said. "Travelling the world, seeing new places, helping people out."

"Yeah, it is pretty great." They continued to walk on in silence for a few minutes. Samantha was thinking about what had happened to those people who had disappeared.

_Was it a Grimm? A serial killer? Something else? _It must have been terrible to live in a village like that, knowing that at any moment, something or someone could take you away.

"What was your first mission like?" Damion asked Amy. "What did you have to do?"

"There was a high Grimm concentration in a section of Mistral. We had to go with Professor Port and clear it out. I ended up getting injured pretty badly."

"How?"

"It was my own fault. I tried to show off by attacking a large cluster of them all by myself, and it didn't work out. Lily had to save me. That was so stupid of me. But maybe if Lily hadn't of…" She stopped herself.

"If Lily hadn't of what?" Damion asked.

"Nothing… it's nothing. Hey, look at that!" She pointed towards a mountain towering over them in the distance.

"Woah, that's huge. Do you think Eika is on top of that mountain?" Samantha said. Damion and Bethany walked ahead of Amy. Samantha came up beside her.

"I hope not." Amy whispered under her breath, so quiet that Samantha barely heard her. She looked up at Amy, who was staring at the mountain, and then began to walk forward.

"That's beautiful." Bethany said in awe.

"Aye, it's a beautiful mountain, isn't it?" They all turned around at the sound of a male voice. There was a old man standing next to them, with greying hair, and he had a lead in his hand, and there was a small dog with a white coat standing next to him, who was staring up at these mysterious people, wagging its tail excitedly.

"Mount Fakhira." The man continued. "Truly one of Vale's natural wonders." The dog began sniffing Damion's leg, and he leant down to stroke it on the head, and it sat down and began licking his hand.

"Please don't pee on me." Damion said, and Samantha sniggered a bit at the thought of Damion being covered in dog pee.

"Ah, he wouldn't do that now, sure you wouldn't Larry?" Larry was beginning to get very excited at all the attention he was receiving, and stood up again, moving his way between their legs, receiving lots of pats on the head and strokes. He especially seemed happy when Amy bent down and stretched him under the chin before he rolled onto his back and she began rubbing his belly, as he made happy noises.

"He likes you now, don't he?"

"I have a dog at home." Amy said softly. She stood back up.

"You all seem to be carrying some fine weaponry with you. Are you huntresses?"

"And huntsmen." Damion pointed out.

"We are, and it's actually great we bumped into you, because we were just wondering if we are heading the right way or not. Would you happen to know where the village of Eika is?" Amy asked.

"The village of Eika?" The man turned around and pointed to the mountain. "Just on the top of that mountain there. Couldn't miss it, it's quite big for a village. You must be going to investigate those disappearances I've heard about."

"We would be, yeah."

"Well, in that case, I won't take up any more of your time then. I'll wish you the best of luck. Come on Larry."

After bidding farewell to him, they set off towards the mountain.

"He was nice enough." Damion commented.

"That dog was pretty cute." Bethany said. She then turned to Amy, who was staring at the mountain. "Hey, Amy, you said you had a dog? What's his or her name?"

Amy didn't respond, she was still looking the mountain up and down.

"Amy? Hello?" Bethany reached up and waved her hand in Amy's face. Amy blinked and looked down at her.

"Uh, what? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"I asked what the name of your dog is?"

"Oh, her name is Aida." Samantha was beginning to wonder why Amy was still surveying the mountain, like it was a impassable obstacle they had no hope of getting past.

"That's a nice name. I have one too. His name is Amatus, which means beloved."

"Aw, that's also really cute." Samantha commented. She looked back up at Amy.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine." She followed after Damion and Bethany. Samantha followed after her.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Miss Silva." Lily nearly jumped at the sound of Ozpin's voice. She looked around and he was standing there. They were outside, and Lily had just been playing a game on her scroll before he had came over.

"Oh, uh, hi Ozpin."

"I was actually looking for you." He walked over and stood in front of her. She put her scroll away. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About Alan O'Malloy."

Lily sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Look, if this is about me threatening him, I didn't mean to-" Ozpin held up his hand and she fell quiet.

"I have heard all about that, and when I take into account the circumstances that surrounded it, and when we consider the fact that you did not cause any serious harm, I think I will let it go. What I am more concerned about is the treatment of his teammates." He looked at her. "Is it true that he attacked his team leader in your sparring class?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is it true that he is a Faunus?"

"Yes."

"And he has not returned since then, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Has he done anything else noteworthy that you can remember?"

Lily tried to think. "He ran away from his team at the docks, he then disappeared, he came back when he and team RWBY fought Torchwick in the Paladin, as well as Lucy and Daniel. That about sums it up."

"I have been reviewing some footage of the initiation, and there is one gesture in particular that has left me confused. He introduces himself politely, and even shakes Miss Brennan's hand. If he truly hated human's that much, why would he do that?"

A sudden thought struck Lily. "We could all see that, us, as teachers, we could see that. Maybe he didn't want to arise suspicion. Maybe he…"

_This is crazy. Ozpin is going to think you've gone mad. _

"Maybe he's a spy for the White Fang, infiltrating the school to try and gain information."

She looked up at Ozpin, who was staring off into the distance thoughtfully. "You could very well be right. However, that is something we can not confirm for the meantime."

He then looked down at her. "I must admit, you and Amy have came very far as friends. I wasn't so sure you two would ever get along, and I believe your brother and teammate thought the same."

"I… I was different back then. I didn't think she was capable of making it in Beacon, especially when she revealed she cheated her way in. I underestimated her, and then on our first mission, she nearly died and when I asked her why she had done it, she said she was trying to prove herself to me, to prove that she was capable of making it in Beacon. It was really after that, and after what was essentially a lecture from Daniel, that we began to make up. And then when Nicole died and Daniel left, she was essentially the only person I had. I hated the way I treated her, and I still do, but I'm glad we made up."

"Have you ever spoken to your brother since then?"

_Do I tell him? _She would practically be admitting to speaking to a criminal outside of school. But then again, Ozpin would probably understand…

_Probably better that I don't. _

"No, I haven't. I really want to though…" Even now, she wanted to. However, he had texted her, stating how he had to "run some errands" and that he would speak to her as soon as possible. She had then asked him what errands they were, and he had simply stated "If you want to help prevent the deaths of innocent people, make sure that your in the city square tomorrow and make sure you have NightSlayer on you.

It was very foreboding, and she was worried about what Cinder had asked him to do.

"It is certainly tragic as to what happened to Mr Silva. He was a fine student, and a fine team leader. I hope that perhaps one day, you and Amy will be able to see him again, and take him off this dark path he has gone down."

"Yeah, me too…"

"Speaking of which, just out of curiosity, what mission did Amy pick?"

"They were going to a village called Eika. Something about people going missing. Where is Eika anyway?"

"Eika is a village on the top of Mount Fakhira."

"It's on the top of a mountain?"

_That's not good… _

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Ozpin asked upon noticing the expression on her face.

"It's just…" Lily looked into the distance before turning to Ozpin. "Amy is terrified of heights. So if they have to climb up it…"

"Now this, I was not aware of."

"Apparently it came about from a accident she had when she was only twelve years old…"

"Well, Amy has always struck me as the kind of person who could overcome such fears." He put a hand on Lily's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she will be okay."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_I am not okay… _Amy was staring up the giant mountain they now had to conquer. It was massive, and it seemed to go on forward. It was extremely steep as well.

She was going to have to climb up this monster of a mountain. A small cliff she could handle, but this was something entirely different. This was a whole new game she was going to have to play. A game of shuffling slowly up a mountain, while the wind battered her from every side, hanging precariously off the side, praying to every god above that the rocks wouldn't crumble.

A game of life and death.

She looked at her three students, who seemed more than ready to get started, while she was sat here shaking in her boots. She slowly clenched her hands into fists. They couldn't afford to try and find a alternate route up, not when people's lives in Eika were potentially in danger. She was going to have to do this.

_If I ever see that pilot again, I am going to rip his head off. _

If she survived this…

_No, don't think like that. You can do this. You have to do this. _She slowly forced her hands to stop shaking, and made her way towards it. She turned back to Bethany, Damion, and Samantha.

"Okay, so we're going to have to scale this thing. Remember, stay close together. Keep an eye on each other, it could be very easy to slip and fall."

"Amy." Bethany said. "Are you okay? Your voice… it seemed to be shaking slightly."

"Me? I'm fine. I'm totally fine." She turned back to the mountain, reached up and grabbed the first rock she saw that was jutting out.

_Totally not going to die. Just don't look down. _

She pulled herself up, making sure to brace herself, then reached for the next one, and continued that process.

_Slow and steady. No need to rush. _It didn't take long for the others to catch up, and in Damion and Samantha's case, even overtake her. Bethany slowed herself down slightly so she was right next to her.

"Amy, are you sure your okay? We could climb down and maybe-"

"Bethany, don't talk to me. Please." Despite her best attempts, she couldn't stop her voice shaking. Bethany didn't say anything else, and they continued to climb up in mostly silence.

Amy tried her absolute hardest not to think about the fact that the ground was slowly beginning to fade out of sight, the fact that the wind was beginning to pick up, the fact that one wrong step, one rock that was slightly unstable, and it was game over. She mostly kept her gaze centred in front of her, only sparing glances to find the next rock she could grab onto to. She had noticed that Damion and Samantha had went way on ahead, at a much quicker pace than she was, but they seemed willing to slow down and wait when necessary.

All of a sudden, a particularly strong gust of wind threatened to rip her off the face of the mountain. She was sent flying back, one of her arms coming free as she leant back, and she made her gravest mistake. She looked down. They were very high up at this point, and the very sight of how high they were sent her into a near panic attack. Then, someone had grabbed her hand and gave her a gentle push back towards the cliff face. She put her head on the cold, hard, rock and tried to recompose herself. She spared a quick glance to the side, and saw Bethany, who wasn't moving up. She was waiting for her to continue. It was probably a bit embarrassing, but Amy could have not been more grateful for Bethany climbing alongside her.

Taking a deep breath, she continued upwards, taking much more care this time around. Slow and steady, that's all it was. Eventually, they managed to make it up to a ledge which was luckily big enough and strong enough to hold everyone's weight, giving them a chance to recuperate with one another.

"How far are we up now?" Samantha asked, peering over the edge.

"Probably about halfway, I would guess." Bethany stated. She looked at Amy. "Are you-"

"I'm okay. Really, I am." She tried her best to smile at them.

"Woah, we are really high up now." Damion said.

_Really not helping Damion… _

"A fall from up here might kill you."

"Shut up Damion." Damion turned and look at Amy. "Just please shut up."

He thankfully shut up. Amy stood back up and looked up at how far they still had to go.

_Okay, you've made it about halfway up. Just need to go for another half. _The others had stood up and were now starting to climb. She followed after them.

_Please don't break rocks, please don't break… _She was silently saying that into herself, along with "Don't look down."

It was actually working, and they were moving at a pretty good pace. The wind was beginning to get even stronger though.

"Guys!" Damion called out suddenly. "There's a section of the cliff up there, and I don't know about you, but it looks really unstable…"

The rock above them was crumbling and cracking at a extremely fast rate. If they even tried to climb up it, there is no doubt it would break and fall.

"We should probably move to the left." Bethany said, pointing to another section of the mountain to their left which had a much more stable appearance.

But it would seem that luck was not on their side today. The rocks cracked, crumbled a bit more, and then started to fall. What was once a relatively peaceful climb, aside from a few strong winds, now became a desperate race to get over to the left side of the mountain.

A rock nearly smashed Amy right in the face, but she twisted her body to the side to barely avoid it. They continued to fall for what seemed like hours upon hours, but it was actually probably only about a minute. By the time they had stopped, a large plume of smoke had been kicked up, and it took a few seconds for it to clear.

Only for Amy to then realise she was in a very dire situation. While Damion, Samantha and Bethany had been successful in getting to the left side of the mountain, she had not been so lucky. And the rocks that could have helped her get to the left side of the mountain had either been dislodged by the falling ones, or weren't strong enough to take her weight. She couldn't climb up, or else she would risk even more rocks falling. There was no clear way for her to get to the other side. She could maybe stab the blade of Storm Chaser into the rock and try to shimmy her way across, but when she attempted to stab it into the rock, it bounced off, so that was out of the question as well.

Until something caught her eye. A small ledge, jutting out of the left side of the mountain, about twenty metres away.

_I could make that jump. _It wasn't impossible. But there was also the chance that she wouldn't make it, and she would go plunging into the abyss, and probably die. The thought of missing it by a inch…

_You don't have a choice. _It was either attempt this jump, or sit here and brood. There was no way that Damion, Samantha or Bethany could get her across, and her weapon didn't contain any rope arrow properties or anything like that which could help her get across. It was now or never.

Taking a step back on the ledge she was on, she braced herself and took in a slow deep breath to try and calm her racing heart.

"Oh my dear baby Grimm." Damion said loudly. "She's going to try and make that jump."

"Amy, wait!" Bethany called out, looking around her. "I'm sure we can-"

She raced towards the edge and jumped. For a moment, the world seemed to slow down. She was only vaguely aware of Samantha and Bethany calling out her name, of Damion saying things like "She's not going to make it!" Her attention was entirely on that ledge, on getting to it.

For a terrifying second, she thought she was going to miss it.

But a second later, she slammed into it, and she grabbed the edge of it so hard her fingernails were probably broke. She hung there for a second, thousands of meters in the air. Gritting her teeth, she then began to pull herself up, and she collapsed onto the rock, panting, sweat dripping off her brow.

"Are you alright?" Samantha asked from above. They were all staring down at her. She slowly stood back up.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Come on, let's get to the top of this mountain." They resumed climbing.

Soon, the top of the mountain was in sight.

_Oh thank goodness. _This was a terrifying experience for Amy, and not one she wanted to relive any time soon. Her heart then immediately sank when she remembered they probably were going to have to climb back down it.

But for now, they had made it. Damion reached down and helped Samantha and Bethany up, and Amy was quick to pull herself over the edge, and she lay there for a second, staring at the broken moon in the sky. It had only just started to get dark, for they had climbed in daylight, and Amy didn't even want to think about how much worse it could have been in the dark.

"Is everybody still in one piece?" Damion asked.

"That was much harder than I thought it would be." Bethany said, she was breathing heavily, sweat dripping off her forehead.

"Well, we made it." Samantha said. "That's a good start." She stood back up and began to walk towards Damion, who was trying to see if he could spot Eika from where he was standing.

Bethany was about to follow them, until Amy held out her hand. "Hey, wait a second." Bethany stopped and waited for her to walk over.

"Bethany, thank you." She didn't need to explain what for. Bethany nodded her head.

"Your welcome. It's perfectly fine to be scared of stuff you know."

"I know, I know. But, it doesn't stop it from being embarrassing."

They stood there looking out towards Damion and Samantha, who had there backs turned to them. Amy then looked back at Bethany and held her arms out.

"Uh, why are you-"

Amy couldn't help but roll her eyes. "So I can give you a hug, silly."

"Oh right." She stepped forward and had to go up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Amy's back. Amy put her arms around her, and they embraced each other.

"You are so tall." Bethany murmured. "Thank the Lord you don't wear high heels."

Amy laughed softly. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. You don't wear high heels when your fighting. Very simple and very basic rule."

"Samantha does and you haven't said anything to her."

"She wears a dress though and that's just even worse. Ah well, each to their own I suppose." She let go of Bethany and the two of them followed after Damion and Samantha.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Speaking of heights, I just realised I haven't made a actual confirmation on my characters heights. I know how tall each of them are, I've just never confirmed it. For those of you who are interested: **

**Luna is 5'7 **

**Samantha is normally 5'7 as well, but with heels she's about 5'8. **

**Lucy is 5'9 **

**Bethany and Lily are 5'10. **

**Alan and Zane are 5'11. **

**Damion is 6'0. **

**Gale was 6'1. **

**Amy is 6'3. **

**Daniel is 6'5. **

**Anyways, I am glad to say that I will be trying to make the chapters longer. This one is sitting at nearly 5000 words. Usually they were around 2500-3000 words, however, I'll be trying to increase it to about 3500-4000 with longer chapters thrown in there. I can't guarantee that, but I'll try my best. **

**Anyway, Happy New Year to everyone and have a good day!**


	25. Ghost Town

**Chapter 25: Ghost Town**

Bethany cut through a stray branch dangling just in front of her face as they began to make their way towards Eika. There had been no real signs of the village so far, and while no one would say it, there was a constant feeling that maybe the old man had been wrong. Maybe he was a bit out of loop. And after having to climb up that mountain, no one would appreciate that.

_Especially not Amy. _It had caught her a bit off guard when she had figured out Amy was scared of heights. She didn't strike Bethany as someone who would be afraid of something like that. But then again, everyone had their fears. She used to be afraid of the dark once.

"Hey, what's that?" Damion said, pointing ahead of them.

"I think it's a sign." Amy said, walking over to it. "Welcome to Eika. Yep, it's a sign all right. Let's go in." There was also a gate right next to the sign, which Amy opened. Bethany peeked over her shoulder, and could see some houses in the distance.

The sound of crunching leaves was heard as they began to make their way towards them. There was no commotion that you might expect to hear from a village, no sound, nothing.

Just a cold, eerie silence.

Whenever they made it to the first house, Amy walked up to the door and knocked on it. No answer.

"Okay then. Let's try the next house…" No answer there either. This trend of people not answering continued for at least three more houses.

"I thought they said only a few people had disappeared." Samantha said.

"Maybe everyone is hiding because there worried someone is going to come in and take them." Amy suggested. They tried one more house. All of a sudden, a man came bursting out wielding a knife.

"Stay back! Stay back! Don't you dare take my family!"

"Hey, hey, woah, calm down there." Amy held her hands out in front of her, and took a step back. "We aren't here to take anyone. We're here to help."

The hand with the knife trembled slightly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Amy Ivankeo, a professional licensed huntress." She took out her scroll and held up her licence. "And these are my students. We are here to find out what is going on with all these disappearances, alright? So, could you please put the knife down?"

He put it down and looked at her. "So, your here to help you say? Well tell me then, what's going on?"

"We don't know yet. We suspect it may be Grimm, but we can't be sure."

"Okay, okay." He took a shaky breath. "Okay."

"Sir, do you know everyone here?"

"I do. Why?"

"That's good, because it'll make this next part a lot easier." Bethany, Damion and Samantha looked at Amy in confusion.

"What next part?" Damion said.

"Damion, maybe if you listened to what Amy is saying, you would know." Samantha said

"I'm listening."

"So, in order to make sure nobody else get's taken, I think it would be best if we grouped you all together into a big house somewhere so we can keep a eye on you."

"Ah, I see."

"So which one of these houses would you say is the biggest?"

"Probably Leilani's."

"Who now?"

"She's a women who lives…" He took a step out of his house. Bethany saw that his wife and son were huddled behind them, and they both quickly followed him out.

"Just over there. I can go talk to her." And with that, he was away, his family following after him.

"People seem to be really on edge here." Amy said. "And no, that was not a intentional pun."

"What exactly is the plan then?" Samantha asked. "How are we going to find out who, or what, is taking these people?"

"Well, what I was thinking was, some of us watch the people, the others go out and look around. There has to be some clue, something we can link together."

"What if the serial killer, or Grimm, or whatever it is, sees that we are here, and decides to beat a hasty retreat?" Bethany said.

"In that case, we better find it quickly then, shouldn't we?"

"Do you really think that those people will trust us?" Damion asked. "I mean, sure, you have your huntress license, but what about us? As far as there concerned, we could be out to get them."

"They won't have much of a choice unfortunately. Oh, there he is now."

People were beginning to come out of their houses and gather around each other. The man who they had been talking to before waved his hand at them to come over.

Everyone was looking at them, and some people were even whispering. Whether they were nice things or not was a completely different question.

"So then everyone" The man spoke up, and people fell quiet. "These people are here to help us. They are going to find out what is taking our children, our brothers, and our sisters. One of them is even a professional huntress." All eyes fell upon Amy, probably because she looked the oldest and was the tallest, who raised her hand in a wave.

"And they have decided it would be best that we all group together in a single house so they can keep an eye on us all, and make sure nobody else is taken." He looked at Amy like he expected her to say something.

"Uhh, yeah, yeah, we thought it would be best for you people while we try and track down the culprit of these disappearances."

"So, therefore, we shall all gather in Leilani's house." That's when Bethany realised just how little people there were in the village.

_There's only about sixty or seventy. How many people have been taken? Whenever the mission info stated "Some disappearances" that was a huge understatement. _

"So, do we head in then?" Someone spoke up.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Might as well." Amy stated, pointing to the house. "Come on everyone, chop, chop."

People began to walk into the house, and they waited until everyone was inside before heading in themselves. The man who was talking to them stopped them.

"I must apologise for my violent start. My name is Chasin." He shook Amy's hand. "I severely hope you can get to the bottom of this. What was once a lively village filled with joy and wonder has been turned into a place where tensions are high and people have no choice but to cower in their own houses for their safety."

"Well, we will certainly try our best." They walked into the house. People were still looking at them.

"Okay then everyone" Amy raised her voice. "Let me just make this clear. Do not leave this house unless I or one of my students here says that you can. I know it seems a bit cruel and unnecessary, but I promise you, it's for your own safety." There were several murmurs but everyone seemed to be happy enough with that.

"And, yeah, that's about it really. Oh, and if you do see anything suspicious, please let us know obviously."

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Damion asked.

"Well, I mean, if you guys want to go and take a walk around the village looking for anything, then that's fine. I'll stay here." Amy said.

"We might as well start looking for anything that might help us." Samantha said to Damion. "Come on." They both left.

"Are you going to go with them?" Amy asked.

"No, I think I'll stay here." Bethany said.

"Oh, alright then."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"So, the Cult of Akuji, huh?" Daniel said. "Never heard of it before."

"It's a cult. I'm sure they wouldn't want to be in the public eye." Lucy said.

"And what even is Akuji? Is that some god or something?"

"I think she's a Grimm." They both looked down at Luna.

"A female Grimm? But Grimm don't have genders. At least I didn't think they did. Certainly never taught me that in Grimm studies class." Daniel said.

"Maybe it's like a special Grimm?" Lucy suggested. "I dunno, I'm just throwing ideas out there."

"Perhaps it's a-" Daniel was cut off by a White Fang member shouting at him.

"Hey boss! Could you come over here for a second?"

"Sorry, I'll be back in a second." Daniel walked over to him. "What is it?"

Luna watched him go, and she thought it was amazing how much authority he held over the White Fang, just how easily he talked to them. If it had of been her, she probably would have stuttered a lot. She had a real problem talking with people, especially after her time in ShiverBane, where people would have often abused her for the half mask that she wore. It only took him a minute to sort out what it was before he came back over.

_So tall, so confident… I wish I could be more like him. _

"Sorry about that. So yeah, I was going say it could be a man made Grimm?"

"A man made Grimm? Dan, don't be stupid." Lucy said.

"Right, look. Luna has told us that it's a cult. So they obviously worship this Grimm, and it's a female apparently. This is something different entirely. It may not even be a Grimm, it could be something entirely different for all we know. Can you remember anything else Luna?"

"Uhh…" She tried to think. It was a long time ago since she had been trapped with the cult, nearly six years, but she was able to recall it extremely well. And that was a extremely bad thing, she hated remembering it.

_What did she look like? Did they ever summon her? _

Not that she could remember. She vaguely recalled a statue of some sort, but her memory was too hazy on that particular spot.

"No, I can't."

"Well, guess we are stuck on figuring out what it could be then. But anyway, how did you get out?"

"I unlocked my semblance."

"Ah, okay."

"Your semblance is like blocking out noise that you make or something, isn't it?" Lucy said.

"Kind of. I can block out noise that I make with my own body" All of a sudden, they couldn't hear her footsteps anymore. She then held her arm out and gave a light slap, and no noise was made. "But I don't block out the noise that's made if I come into contact with another object. So like…" She went up to the nearest wall and lightly rapped her knuckle against it. A clear sound was made.

"Oh, that makes sense. Kind of."

"What about you two then?"

"Well…" Luna watched as Daniel produced a clone of his own body, which walked alongside him. It looked like him, besides from the fact it was made up of a blue aura. It then went back into his body, disappearing completely.

"Oh yeah, I remember that now. Lucy?"

"I… still haven't unlocked mine, and quite frankly, at this point, I don't think I ever will."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Daniel put a hand on her shoulder. "Sometimes you unlock your semblance at the most dumb and unbelievable time. Like my sister, she unlocked her ability to clone objects when she threw a box at my face."

"Wait, what?" Lucy turned and looked up at him. "Why was she throwing a box at your face?"

"It was when we were like, seven years old or something. I don't remember exactly. I probably stole something off her."

"Oh. What about Amy then? What's her semblance?"

"She really doesn't like to use it, or even really talk about it. She can manipulate people's emotions and how there feeling."

"Why wouldn't you want to use that?" Lucy asked. "I can think of loads of situations where that would be really helpful. Friend about to get mad at you? Make them happy. Boyfriend or girlfriend about to break up with you? Make them feel love."

"I am just sure you would love to have that as your semblance Lucy. Make all the boys fall in love with you." Luna could tell from the big grin on Lucy's face that she was thinking just that. "Amy used to see it like that, but then she stopped using it like that. Nowadays, she would only use it if absolutely necessary."

"Why? What happened?"

"Lucy, if you ever meet Amy again, do not tell her that I've told you this. She would go mental at me. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure, I've got it."

"Good. So basically, she used to have this crush on this guy back at Beacon. His name was Hari, I think, it's been a while. And she would constantly try to get his attention. However, he just simply wasn't having it. So, she tried to use her semblance on him. And it worked. The effect isn't permanent though, it only lasts for a while. So, during those short, shall we say, bursts of affection, they would get all lovey with each other. And okay, I will admit, I did think it was kind of cute. Eventually though, I came to the realisation that it just wasn't right. She was essentially turning him into a puppet for her own romantic pleasures, it wasn't natural, it was forced. So I told Hari. I told him what was going on and needless to say, he was not pleased."

"I can imagine."

"Next time she tried to do it, he pushed her away. Amy basically demanded to know what was going on, and I told her that I had told him. Saying she was angry is a understatement. She was fuming. Didn't speak to me for days. Whenever I did eventually talk to her, and told her why I thought it was wrong, she began to understand. It took her a while, but she understood. And that's why she doesn't use it unless it's absolutely necessary."

"That's a powerful semblance." Luna said quietly.

"It most definitely is. Being able to manipulate how someone is feeling… That's a big thing. It's also why we need to treat those kinds of semblance's with care. Because while some semblance's may just give you a small edge in combat, others can potentially change a person completely. They may use it to further their own selfish needs, or to even harm other people."

"You did the right thing." Luna said. "By telling Hari."

"I know I did. But sometimes, it's hard to choose between doing what you think is right, and doing what you think is best for the people you care about."

"You sound like you would've made a really great team leader." Lucy stated. "If that had of been me, I would have just let her do her thing."

"I just did what I thought was best and tried not to abuse my power. Whether I succeeded in that or not is a completely different story. Although I did fail to save Nicole…" He sighed softly. Lucy reached out and gently squeezed his hand.

"But anyway, back to what we were talking about before. The Cult of Akuji. So we are all in agreement that there is a highly dangerous cult running around somewhere in Remnant and we have no clue where they are or what they could be doing."

"There doing things that cult's do." Lucy suddenly put her hands out and raised them up in the air. "Behold the might of the holy tea spoon! It's power is unlimited and unbounded! It shall come down from the heavens and set us all free!"

"A tea spoon?" Daniel asked. "Of all things?" Luna was bent over, and she was laughing.

"Well, yeah. Cult's worship all sorts of weird things."

"But a teaspoon? Seriously?" Daniel shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Alright then. How about a… hat?"

"A hat?"

"Yeah, like Roman's. The cult of the out of fashion bowler hat."

"I'm sure Roman would love to have a cult dedicated to a bowler hat."

"Or how about the cult of ice cream? There's Neo's one!"

"She scares me." Luna said. "Her eyes change colour and it's really weird."

"She's really quite sweet actually when you get to know her."

Daniel groaned. "Are you serious Lucy?"

"What?"

"Sweet? She's really quite "sweet."

"I didn't even do it on purpose, I swear!"

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Is that a farm?" Damion pointed out a field surrounded by a fence which appeared to have carrots growing in it.

"Yes, Damion, that is a farm. The people here live on top of a mountain, they need to get their food somehow."

"I thought so. Anyway, how exactly are we supposed to find something that is supposed to help us find out who's taking all these people?"

"I… really don't know." She took Onris out and began to move her hands up and down it's blade.

"How does it actually work? How does that function as a whip and a sword at the same time?"

"How do your two short swords transform into pistols?"

"Well, basically, you see this thing here? That does something, and uh, yeah, I don't really know."

"There's your answer. I don't know how whip swords work."

"Hey, they look really cool though, so that's something."

"I guess."

"So…" A realisation suddenly struck Damion.

_Have I really talked to Samantha all that much? _There was that one time they had played chess, and that one time she had beaten him in sparring, amongst other occasions, but had he ever had a actual meaningful conversation with her? He didn't think so. Aside from knowing that apparently she liked to read, but he couldn't ever recall her actually reading a book, he basically knew nothing about her. Nothing about her personal life, or what other things she liked to do, or what her ambitions were, nothing like that. And considering she was his partner, he couldn't help but feel like that was wrong.

_But then again, if you didn't have to spend so much time worrying about Bethany and wondering what crazy thing Alan is going to do next, you may have been able to spend a little more time getting to know her. _

"So what?" She was looking up at him.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about stuff. Sorry, I'll pay more attention to what we should be doing now."

_I do wonder what Alan is doing now though…_

The guy was a jerk, but now that Damion knew he was a Faunus, it gave a bit of context as to why he did what he did. His actions were understandable, but not justifiable.

_But he didn't seem that bad at the beginning… _

It was only really at the docks that Damion began to hate him. He had even showed off his weapons to them all in their first talk together. He hadn't seemed that bad. It was confusing.

"Do you think Bethany's okay after what happened with Alan?" Samantha suddenly said. "I mean, he was her partner, and he basically just left."

"I don't know Sam. My biggest problem with it seems to be that she seems to think she could have done something about it. Helped him in some way. But if he is a Faunus, and he's been treated like dirt by the humans, there was no helping him. And that's just the simple truth."

"Yeah, I guess."

They fell silent again, walking through the village.

_It's just so… quiet. _

"This feels very much like a scene in a horror movie. Two people walking along in a abandoned village and the next minute, boom, something jumps out." Damion stated.

"I don't like how quiet it is." Samantha noticeably shuddered. "It creeps me out."

"It's like a ghost town. Maybe something is about to jump out-"

"Damion, don't. Please. Your just making me more paranoid." She looked around for a moment, and then wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

_Is she cold? Should I like, put my arm around her or something? _

This was really quite telling about how much he didn't know about her, the fact he didn't know if he was even allowed to touch her or not.

"Are you cold?"

"Are you kidding? I'm freezing. I always knew it was windier on the top of mountains, but this is ridiculous."

"Maybe you should have worn something more than just a dress then."

"That's really helpful now, isn't it?"

"You can still throw a sassy remark back at me, so you mustn't be feeling that cold." She rolled her eyes at him. "And you can still roll your eyes at me."

"Alright, I get it." She shivered again. She then noticeably stepped closer to him.

"We can head back if you want to."

"No, really, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then. Hey, I think we've come to the end of the top of the mountain." They had suddenly come to a steep drop, the landscape stretching out before them as far as the eye could see.

"Well, now we have no option but to turn back." Damion was about to turn around, until Samantha put a hand on his arm. Her hand was freezing cold, even through the sleeve of his jacket.

"No, let's sit here for a minute." She walked over and sat down, her shins dangling over the edge.

He sat down next to her and they stared out into the sky for a minute before Damion spoke up.

"This should not be this awkward."

"Huh?" Samantha turned and looked at him. "What shouldn't be this awkward?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He motioned to himself and then to her. "Us! We shouldn't be so awkward with each other! We are supposed to be partners!"

"But we-"

"Anybody who was looking in on the outside would think we didn't know each other. I don't even know that much about you, and you don't know that much about me. It shouldn't be like that."

"Damion-"

"We should know each other better than this."

"Damion, why are you getting so worked up about this?"

"Because I don't feel like I've done enough to get to know you. Sure, we played a game of chess once, and okay, we've talked a bit, but that's it."

"Damion, you know in the grand scheme of things, we haven't known each other for that long. We still have plenty of time at Beacon. I really wouldn't be worrying about that. And besides, your a nice guy. I mean, you clearly care about Bethany."

"I suppose so. But I just feel like at this point, on our first mission, I should know you a bit better. That's all it is really. But yeah, I suppose your right. Sorry, I don't even know why I brought it up."

"It's fine. You don't need to say sorry. But I do care about you." She lent back and placed her palms on the grass. "We've just had to spend more time worrying about Bethany and how she's been dealing with this Alan problem, you know? And you may be a idiot sometimes Damion, but I like idiots, because I can then prove I'm smarter than them easier."

"Hey! I'm not that much of a idiot!"

"Your my idiot." She smiled at him. It was beginning to get dark, and the moon was shining bright in the sky.

"It's getting dark, we should head back now." Damion stood back up.

"Yeah, your right." Samantha stood back up as well. She then walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Even just the fact that you would worry about not knowing your partner well enough proves that you can't be that bad of a person."

"I guess. Sorry, I don't even know-"

"Stop apologising you big dumbo." She put her arms around him and gave him a hug.

"Oh, this is nice." He put his arms around her as well.

After letting go of each other, they both began walked back to the house.

"I still think you shouldn't wear high heels though. I mean, if this was a horror movie, then we would have been dead by now with the amount of noise your making by just walking."

Samantha purposefully began stomping her feet down even harder, making it even louder. "Here we go ghosts, come get us!" She called out, which made Damion laugh.

"And you said this place creeped you out."

"That's when it was quiet. We're talking now though, so it's not quiet anymore. I'm still freezing though." She shivered once again, much more violently this time. "Would you mind-" He put his arm around her. "Thanks."

Eventually, they made it back to the house, where Amy was standing outside, waiting for them. Damion took his arm away.

"There you both are. Did you find anything useful?"

"No, we didn't."

"Okay then. You can both go on in and get some rest. I'm on first watch for the night anyway."

"Alright then." They both walked in. Bethany was sitting in the corner and beckoned for them to come over.

"People are already beginning to fall asleep, so we're going to have to keep quiet." She whispered.

"Got ya leader." Damion said in a very loud whisper.

"Damion, that's a loud whisper." Samantha said to him.

"Is it? Okay, let me just turn it down a bit then." He dropped his voice even lower. "That better?"

"Now we can't hear what your saying." Bethany said.

"Well, what do you expect me to do then?"

"We should probably sleep anyway." Samantha stated. "Amy's probably going to be waking us up throughout the night to keep watch."

"Or maybe she just has a really big cup of coffee." Damion suggested.

"That's another option. Didn't see her holding anything though."

"Well, whatever. I'll be going to sleep now, so if you two are going to keep talking, don't wake me up. I can get very cranky when I want to be." Bethany laid herself down and rested her head on her hands. "Okay, this is extremely uncomfortable."

"I can tell you a bed time story if you want." Damion jokingly suggested. "That might help you fall asleep."

"No, I really don't want to hear about the tale of "Damion Awesome Denton, the saviour of Remnant."

"Aw, okay then."

Bethany quietly laughed and turned over onto her side. "Night guys."

"Goodnight, don't let the Grimm bite." Damion said.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**So, I've been looking at a bunch of stuff lately, and there are a couple of names that just aren't sitting right with me for some reason. **

**ShiverBane is a obvious one, but for some reason, the names of Lucy's daggers and Bethany's swords haven't been looking quite right either. They've been called those for ages, and yet only now I'm starting to not like them. Don't know why.**

**Obviously I'll say if there are any massive changes. **

**As always, thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	26. Making Progress

**Chapter 26: **

_I can't sleep. _

Maybe it was the fact that Samantha was currently lying on a very uncomfortable surface, the floor wasn't exactly known for it's outstanding comfort, or maybe it was something else. Damion and Bethany were both asleep, somehow, along with literally everyone else. She knew it would be for the better if she did sleep, but that wasn't looking likely at this point.

Slowly standing up, trying not to wake anyone up, she slowly began to make her way through the mass of sleeping bodies, of which there were many.

_Maybe Damion was right when he said I shouldn't wear high heels…_

She eventually made it though, without waking anyone up. It was so dark that if it weren't for the few lights set up outside the house, you wouldn't be able to see anything.

"Couldn't sleep?" She nearly jumped at the sound of Amy's voice, who was standing just in front of her.

"How did you know I was there?"

"It's because of those damn high heels, that's why." Amy turned around and looked at her. "I am telling you, it's not a good idea."

"It's what I've always worn." Samantha crossed her arms.

"Well, sneak attacks for you are out of the question then."

"Fine by me."

"So anyway, what's up?"

"Nothing really. I just couldn't sleep."

"Just wanted someone to talk to?"

"I guess, yeah."

"Fair enough." Amy walked over and stood next to her.

"Amy, I don't mean to pry into your personal life or anything, but why are you afraid of heights?"

The question just slipped out.

She braced herself for the snappy response. But it didn't come. Instead, she got a heavy sigh.

"It happened when I was twelve years old. To put it simply, I fell off a cliff. A very high cliff. I was hospitalised for a few months. I'm not going to say anything else about it, so don't bother asking. I really don't like to talk about it. It still embarrasses me to this day that I'm scared of them."

"Why would you be embarrassed though?"

"Because it's such a stupid thing to be scared of. Especially in the job I'm in, heights are rather common. Skydiving out of bullheads, scaling mountains, that's all rather easy stuff for everyone else, but I get terrified of it. It's a weakness."

"Yeah, maybe, but just because your a huntress doesn't mean you aren't allowed to be afraid of something."

"But what if it prevents me from doing my job? What if I can't save someone because of it? What if-" She stopped suddenly and looked down at Samantha, who had placed her hand on Amy's shoulder.

"Everyone is scared of something, even if they don't know it. And besides, you may be scared of heights, but you still scaled that mountain. You didn't complain or whine or make excuses, you just got on with it. And that's a sign of true bravery."

"And I'm supposed to be your teacher."

Samantha chuckled. "Well, you know the old saying, you learn something new every day."

"Heh. As a adult, I can safely say that it is true. You do learn something new every day." Samantha took her hand away.

"But there is something that I would like to talk about." Samantha said suddenly.

"Well, go on then."

"Alan." Amy sighed loudly.

"Sam, what is there really to say about him? He is very clearly a Faunus who has been spat on since birth."

"But there's something that has been bugging me. Why would he come to Beacon then, a place populated by humans?"

"Now that, I can't answer." Amy sighed. "Some people are just weird."

"What I'm more concerned about is how Bethany is handling it. He was her partner after all."

"Yeah, that's true." Amy massaged her brow. "Just make sure to care of her, okay? You're the people closest to her, it's your job to look after her."

"Of course, of course." Samantha stared off into the distance and then looked back at Amy.

"So, uh, what do we do about these disappearances then? Do we just keep looking for clues?"

"That's all we really can do. What I am worried about though, is that people in there are going to be feeling all kinds of negative emotions. Worry for their family, frightened that there going to be taken next. And negative emotions will attract the Grimm."

"That's really bad. I hope we figure this out soon enough before more people get taken."

"You and me both. We can't guarantee that the people who have been taken are going to be okay though. We may very well be left with families torn apart."

"I really hope that isn't the case."

"It will be." Amy's voice was low, and full of sadness. "There will be people left on their own without their families, there will be people dead. That's just how it is. I've been in this job long enough now to tell you that. You can't save everyone unfortunately. And that's the honest truth."

"We can still hope though, right? We can still pray that some people are okay."

"We can, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen. We could find this place, walk in, and just find rows upon rows of dead bodies."

"Amy, that can't be the case. There's no way-"

"It could be though." Amy shrugged. "Look, I'm not saying that there's nothing wrong with being optimistic. I would consider myself quite the optimist actually. But, whenever you've been on the amount of missions that I've been on, and you have had to watch poor, innocent people die before your eyes as you know there's nothing you can do to save them, and you've had to go and tell kids that there parents are dead, you tend to brace yourself for the worst. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. That's all you can do."

Samantha fell silent, knowing that Amy was talking from experience, and knowing that she could very well be right.

"But anyway, moving on from that depressing topic, have anything else you want to talk to me about?"

"What was your time at Beacon like?" Another question which could prove to have quite the interesting response.

"Well… There was quite a lot of good, and some bad. But I think the positives outweigh the negatives in that regard."

"Is there anything you would have changed?"

"Yes. Yes, there is quite a bit I would have changed."

"Are the same teachers still here?"

"Yep. Glynda is still there, Port is still there, Oobleck is still there, Ozpin is still there."

"Has anything changed?"

"Sam, it's only been about seven years. I'm not that old. But nothing big or major has changed, at least from what I can tell. Although, one thing that has changed is that there certainly aren't as many food fights as there used to be."

Samantha stared at her. "What?"

"I think there has been one since I came back here, but back when I attended, they were a common occurrence. Best bit is, Ozpin didn't seem to mind, but Glynda, oh Glynda, she would come down on your head hard."

"Did you take part in these?"

"Of course I did! Most fun I ever had at Beacon!"

"Right…" Samantha looked off to the side, and thought she saw a dark shape lurking in the shadows, not too far away. She was just about to bring out Onris, before Amy stepped in front of her.

"Wait. I see it too." She whispered under her breath. "Act natural. If he or she thinks we've seen them, they'll run off again."

It was crouching down behind a bush, still and unmoving. Amy turned her attention away from it, acting like she hadn't seen it, but was still looking at it out of the corner of her eye. Samantha waited for her to make the first move.

The following seconds felt like a eternity. Then, the figure moved, darting behind the house. Amy slowly walked towards the edge of the house, and looked round the corner. She held out her hand and beckoned Samantha to come forward. And very slowly, like a cat, Amy began to creep forward. Not a single word was uttered by either of them as they tried there best to be as quiet as possible.

All of a sudden, Amy jumped round the corner and switched Storm Chaser into it's rifle form, holding it up.

"And what do you think you are doing?"

Samantha pulled out Onris and quickly moved over next to Amy. It was still extremely dark, but she could just make out the figure who was currently looking in the back window. It turned around and faced them.

Amy swore loudly. Samantha nearly jumped out of her skin. This was not a human. This was not your normal everyday serial killer. This was something else entirely.

It looked like a human, but it's skin was white, with red markings on it's hands and face. It almost looked like a Grimm.

And then, it lunged. It came down on Amy, who had already swapped to sword mode, and slashed at the things face, knocking it back, but it came once again, and Samantha spun her whip sword around, striking it in the legs, and it growled, a sound somewhere between a human and a Grimm. Amy attempted to strike it, but it brought its hands up, and locked eyes with her. And then, with a frightening strength, it pushed, forcing Amy back. Samantha came around the back of it and whipped her sword around its back, and with it restrained, Amy brought her blade up, and stabbed downwards, but the arm did not come off as you would have expected a Grimm's too. But it did yell out in pain.

"Hurt's…" Samantha stopped suddenly.

_Did it just… talk? _

Amy planted her boot into it's jaw, and it was sent tumbling backwards.

"No, no, why are they fighting back? They have never fought back. No, this isn't right." It curled up into a ball, and began shaking it's head rapidly. "No, no, no…"

"Stand up." Amy had her blade at it's throat. It obeyed, still shaking it's head and murmuring "No" over and over again.

"Are you the one who has been taking these people?"

"Why are there huntsmen here? Our mother told us it would be easy to grab these people and turn them."

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

"I must warn the cult, I must warn the cult, I must warn-"

"Hey, is everything okay-" Damion and Bethany had both suddenly appeared around the corner. They glanced at Samantha, and looked at Amy.

"Woah, what is that thing?" Damion said.

"I must warn the-"

"You aren't warning anyone." Amy was glaring down at it. "Instead, you are going to tell us exactly what's going on here."

"No, I won't tell. I won't betray our mother."

"Who is your mother?"

"I won't tell, I won't betray-"

Amy suddenly pressed her blade down harder. "Want to tell me now?"

It looked up at her, and Samantha had now only noticed that it's eyes were completely black.

"Won't tell, won't betray-"

Amy suddenly grabbed it by the throat and threw it to the side. She glanced at the three of them.

"This thing-" She motioned to the man Grimm thing. "May potentially be our only lead on whatever is taking these people."

"So, what are we going to do?" Damion said.

Amy bent over the creature. "We're going to make it talk."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"You have failed."

The words hit Alan like a slap to the face. Adam Taurus was pacing backwards and forwards just in front of him.

"I found out some stuff! Like-"

"Be quiet!" Alan fell silent. "I gave you specific orders. You were to find out more about the students at Beacon, the professors, any potential foes which may have posed a threat to the White Fang when we attack Beacon. You were supposed to find out more about the school itself, it's infrastructure, how it worked, any potential areas we may have to focus on. But most importantly of all-" Adam turned and looked at him. "You were supposed to find out more about Blake, her team, who she is growing close to. Yet, you have succeeded in none of that."

"It was all my team's fault! They kept questioning me, wanting to know what I was doing!"

"You should have remained undercover! But here I was receiving reports that you lead Blake and some monkey Faunus down to the docks, and fought Daniel Silva and Lucy Locke, who let me remind you, we are working with! You are lucky they didn't recognise you!"

"But-"

"And that's not all. Then you got involved in some high speed chase with Torchwick, then you challenged a teacher to a fight, and then you left! I warned you after that docks incident when you came here, that if you got yourself into any more bother, if you walked out of Beacon again, that there would be serious consequences."

"This isn't right! I was trying to prove a point! That Faunus are the superior species! Isn't that what you want?! And besides, I fought Daniel and Lucy because we don't need to work with them, we don't need to work with Cinder-"

"We don't have a choice! Besides, Cinder may be a human, but she has promised us great rewards for our services. Including my revenge on Blake."

"What is it with you and Blake?" Alan stood up and began walking closer to Adam. "Why are you so obsessed with her? What does she mean to you? She is just a pawn in a massive game of chess! She is not the most important thing right now! Why must you wreak revenge on her of all people when there are much more important objectives to be completed?"

"I would choose your next words very carefully Alan O'Malloy."

"She is not the most important thing right now, so why are you acting like she is?!" He basically shouted. Adam took a step back and looked Alan up and down.

"You do not know her like I do. There was once a time where could have been something. We would have watched humanity burn together. But she left me, all alone. She has hurt me in a way no one else has, a pain that is worse than any branding machine, or any torture the humans can inflict. She will pay for leaving me. So do not act like you know what that's like. You may have gone through your own pain and suffering Alan, but it is nothing compared to what I have went through."

"She has a partner. A girl called Yang Xiao Long."

"Is that so? And what is her semblance? Her fighting style? What will we need to prepare for if she comes for us?"

Alan was quiet.

"Exactly. Another example of your failure. Can you tell me any of her other teammates? No? What a surprise. Can you at least tell me anything about the teacher you fought? Nothing? Whenever you volunteered to go on this task, I would have thought you would have taken it a bit more seriously. It appears I was wrong."

"What do I do now then?"

"You will remain here, with me. I will personally make sure that you don't get another assignment like this ever again. You will participate in the attack on the Beacon. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. You may leave."

Alan stood up and slowly walked away, looking back at Adam for a second.

_His obsession with Blake is going to be his downfall. _

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"So then what?" Daniel asked Roman. "You sit in a cell, get broken out by Neo, take over the Atlas robots , and then?"

"Then me and Neo will join you and Lucy, then we walk straight up to Miss Fire Queen, we slaughter her, and then we're grand. But it probably won't be as smooth as that. Something will go wrong."

"Neo, has Cinder spilled anything on her plans? Where she's going to be, or anything like that?" Daniel asked. Neo shook her head.

"Well, isn't that great?" Lucy was sitting in the corner. Luna was standing next to her. "This plan to kill Cinder sure isn't shaping up too well Dan."

"We can't afford to wait too much longer Neo. You need to do whatever you can to find out information about Cinder's plan. Steal her scroll if you have to."

Neo nodded her head again.

"Good stuff. So, about-"

"Hey boss!" Someone called from outside. "I think I've got something you might want to see!"

"Is it good or bad Perry, because let me tell you, I have had a day." Torchwick shouted back.

"Uh" There was a moment's hesitation from Perry. "It's a little girl?"

Roman stuck his head outside and then proceeded to sigh loudly. "That would be bad."

"Who is it?" Daniel looked out and immediately noticed her as one of the girls who had turned up when Roman brought in the Paladin. "Oh, wonderful. That is indeed bad."

"Mhmm." Roman took the cigar he was smoking out of his mouth and threw it down.

"You need to get the train ready to move." Daniel dropped his voice to a whisper. "Girls like to travel in packs. If she's here, the other's aren't far behind."

"What about Little Red then?"

"I'll deal with her." Daniel stepped out. Lucy and Luna followed behind him, leaving Roman and Neo to inform the White Fang that they were getting ready to move.

Daniel walked right over to Ruby and Perry let go of her, leaving Daniel to bring his foot back and kick her down to the ground.

"So then, want to explain to me how you managed to find your way down here?"

There was no answer as she picked herself up and ran at him only for him to sidestep and then Lucy stepped forward and punched her in the face as hard as she could, sending Ruby sailing back to the floor.

Daniel kneeled down and put the grips of the two pistols together, and soon a small shotgun was formed. He placed it just in front of Ruby's face.

"Woah, since when could your guns do that-"

"I'm not as stupid as you think I am. You show up here, out of nowhere, no weapon, no backup. This is a trap isn't it? I can guarantee your friends are just waiting to spring out when we least expect it. Well, I'm not falling for it. Try as you might, you can't escape."

Suddenly, she was gone, disappearing in a cloud of rose petals.

"Huh? Where'd she go?"

Daniel looked around, only to then see Luna, who must have noticed where she went, with the chain of her weapon wrapped around Ruby's legs. She was staring down at her, and Ruby's eyes widened upon looking at Luna's face. That only seemed to infuriate Luna, who kicked her over onto her back and placed her foot on her chest.

"Okay…" Daniel walked over to them. "So that didn't work out well for you."

"What are we going to do with you?" Lucy said.

"Bring her onto the train. We can't risk her getting away and alerting the others. We need to move this thing out, now." A loud explosion caught their attention. There were a couple of White Fang members running and taking shots.

"What is that?" Lucy stated unhelpfully. A couple of seconds later, Daniel recognised a couple of figures running towards them. A man with a pair of very thick rimmed glasses…

_Dr Oobleck? _

"Oh, and she's gone again." Ruby had disappeared once again. They turned to see her once again running towards the group.

"Should we-"

"We don't have time for that! Come on you two!" Daniel ran towards the train and jumped onto it. "Roman!"

Roman turned around and looked at him. Neo was next to him.

"What? I heard a explosion-"

"There here! We need to get this train up and running, now!"

Roman leant over and spoke into a intercom. "Everyone, get to your places, we are leaving now!"

The White Fang members who were shooting at the intruders came dashing onto the train as it slowly began to start up and move.

"Do you reckon they'll be able to jump on in time?" Luna said. "I mean, they were advancing on us quite quickly."

"Don't worry about it Luna." Lucy said. "We've got what's essentially a trained huntsmen" She pointed to Daniel. "Two trained assassins" She motioned to Luna and Neo. "We also have me, and I'm just great. And we also have, uh, a guy with a bowler hat! And, uh, a white coat! Oh, his cane can also turn into a gun!"

Roman did not seem amused by her statement.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_I wonder what's even going on up in Eika… _

Lily was walking through the city of Vale, bored out of her mind. Ozpin and Glynda were both caught up with something, so she essentially had no one to talk to. She was just waiting around for this big event which Daniel had told her was about to happen.

_Is it a serial killer? A Grimm? Something else entirely? _

Lily wished that she could have gone on the mission as well. But it was a strict rule that only one hunter or huntress could go on a mission. At least that's what Glynda had told her when she asked.

_Amy's there though. I'm sure Bethany, Damion, and Samantha will be fine. _

She couldn't help but wish that she could be there to help too. It was basically the first time in nearly seven years that Amy wasn't around her, and she was worried about her best friend, especially if she decided to do something completely immature or stupid. She could only hope though that with her students around, Amy wouldn't try anything like that.

_It's just so hard to believe that we're still friends after everything that happened in our first year at Beacon… _

When Lily had learned that Amy had cheated her way into Beacon with the help of her own brother, she had been disgusted. Ashamed that she had even thought for a second that Amy stood any chance of making it in Beacon. She had thrown her to the wayside, insulted her, and was more than happy to hear that there was a chance she was going to be expelled from Beacon when her work ethic wasn't high enough and her grades had fallen.

_But then Daniel gave her another chance… _

He had managed to convince Glynda and Ozpin to give Amy another chance. And she had gotten better.

_Then on our first mission… _

Amy had gone out of her way to try and prove herself to her own partner and had nearly died. Even now, Lily remembered the guilt that had settled onto her when she realised she was the reason for that. Despite the constant reassurance from Amy that all was forgiven, she still felt terrible about it all these years later. Still felt like she shouldn't have been forgiven so easily. Still felt like she hadn't done enough to repay back all the love and comfort that Amy had given her when Nicole died and Daniel left Beacon.

_Nicole… _

She truly had been something else. Smart, beautiful, talented, and not at all even arrogant about those traits. She had treated her team with nothing but care, empathy, and was always there for you to talk to. She was special. Her death had hit all of them so hard.

_Especially Daniel. He must still think about her sometimes. _

And the worst part was, shortly after leaving, he wouldn't have had anyone to soothe him, or anyone to talk to. He would have been out there, in the criminal underworld, all on his own, until he met Lucy. It was clear that he cared about her very deeply, and while she wasn't aware how that relationship had started, or how deep it was, hopefully she would find out someday.

Suddenly, a building which was painted a very familiar pink and green colour caught her eye.

_Oh my gosh. No way… _

It was still here. Lily hadn't noticed it because she hadn't came this deep into the city every since returning to Vale, but it was here. Sugar Rush. The sweet shop her team had came to. Nearly every single week, they had came down here, loading all sorts of cups with the most succulent, mouth watering, and tasty sweets you could imagine. She could even recall sneaking lien off Daniel several times when she didn't have enough of her own to buy them. She walked over to it and stood in front of it for a moment before pushing open the door.

She got the biggest nostalgia trip when she stepped in. She felt like she was eighteen years old again, a time of her life where she was obsessed with this shop. The shelves were littered with them. She took a walk around, admiring them all, until…

"Dear me, if it isn't Lily Silva!"

She turned around, to see someone standing at the counter. This certain person she knew. This was Jarah Kaede, the owner of this shop. He was older now, and his hair was starting to grey slightly.

"Hi Jarah."

"I haven't seen you in here every since your Beacon days! How have you been?"

"Fine, mostly."

"What about Amy?"

"She's just been Amy, you know what she's like."

He laughed for a moment, and then he stopped suddenly. "I'm sorry about your brother. Seeing him become what he did… That must have been hard. And I heard about what happened to Nicole too."

"I'm just glad I had Amy when I did. She really helped me through a lot of that."

"Well, that's good to hear. Speaking of her, where is she anyway? She used to love this place."

"She probably still would. And she's out on a mission with a few of our students."

"Ah yes, your both teachers at Beacon now, aren't you?"

"Yep. It's been… interesting."

"In a good or bad way?"

"Bit of both."

"Right, right. Anyways, I know you just love to chat, but I'm sure you didn't walk in here to hear me waffle on. You're here to get some of this." He motioned to the shelves of sweets. "Well, help yourself. I've got plenty of stock."

"Is the arcade still here? The one just around the corner?" That was their evening plan most of the time. Buy sweets, and then go there.

"It most certainly is. Why? Thinking of going there after? Just like the old days, eh?"

Lily smiled at him. "Exactly."

_**Criminals and Mentors **_

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	27. No Brakes

**Chapter 27: No Brakes**

The train rocketed along the track, as Daniel held his breath to hear if team RWBY and Dr Oobleck had managed to jump onto the train in time. It would appear that luck was not on his side today, as a moment later, a White Fang member popped his head into the room.

"Hey boss, they made it onto the train!"

"Where are they?"

"I think there-" He was cut off when the cry of a White Fang member was heard from above, followed by a sudden thud as something hit the train tracks. More sounds of fighting were emerging from the top of the train.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, yes it does." And with that, Daniel rushed to the top of the train by using a ladder inside of the train. A second later, Lucy, Luna, Roman and Neo all came up behind him.

"Well, isn't that great." Roman muttered. Far ahead of them was the sight of the White Fang being demolished, handled with relative ease. A loud explosion was heard as one of the train cars detached themselves. Then, Grimm began to pour onto the tracks, rushing forward as the train raced on.

"Hey, where did Neo go?" Roman suddenly asked. She had indeed disappeared.

Not for long though, as she suddenly appeared in front of them, and began making complicated gestures with her hands.

"What is she saying?" Luna asked, confused.

"Three of them are heading down below into the train cars to try and stop the bombs while Red and Dr Ooblock-" Daniel would have probably corrected her, but there was no time for that now. "Are staying up on the top to try and stop the train?" Neo nodded her head. Somehow, she had managed to sneak further up the train and listen in on their plan without being noticed.

"How did she find out-" Luna looked at Neo like she was some magician who had just pulled a rabbit out of her hat.

"It's Neo." Lucy stated. Daniel took a step forward and stared down the train. Some of the Paladin's began jumping up, obscuring his view, but he could only see flashes of red and black, as well as Oobleck's green hair. He saw no signs of white or yellow, the colours he had associated with Weiss Schnee and the blonde girl. No sign of Blake either.

"Neo, Roman" Daniel said. "Stay here and fend off Dr Oobleck and Little Red." Neo gave him another quick nod before whipping out her parasol and charging forward, Roman on her heels. Daniel couldn't help but recall a time where Roman and Neo would not have listened to him, butting heads over how to plan a robbery and stuff like that. Yet, the two of them seemed perfectly willing to listen to him nowadays.

"What are we going to do?" Luna looked up at him.

"We need to head back down below and stop the rest of them." Daniel jumped back into the train car, and rushed through the compartments.

When the door in front of him opened, and he saw Weiss, Blake and the blonde girl in front of him, he stopped, eyeing the three of them up for a second. Not a word was exchanged as Daniel slung Death's Grace off his back, and pointed it at Weiss, a very clear command that he was going to deal with her. Lucy and Luna then came out from behind them and went for Yang and Blake, catching them off guard and knocking them into the car behind them. Daniel watched them for a second before focusing his attention back on Weiss as the door to the car closed.

"A Schnee attending Beacon? I don't know about you, but that seems quite odd to me. I thought Atlas Academy would be the place for someone like you."

Weiss didn't say anything as she pointed her rapier at him. Without another word spoken, the two raced to meet each other. Weiss went for the first strike, a thrust to his stomach, but he sidestepped it and went around the back of her, and just as he brought his sword down, a force field formed in front of him suddenly, deflecting the blow. He took a step back to dodge a follow up blow.

Going in once again, Daniel swiped his sword downwards, and she deflected it with her rapier, but he brought his free hand back in a attempt to punch her, forcing her to backflip away from him. Keeping up on the offensive, he whipped one of his pistols out and fired, a shot which hit the wall behind her, not in a attempt to damage, but to distract. Stepping in once again, he brought his foot back and went in for kick to the face, and Weiss leaped into the air, landing on the ceiling, and came down, and he moved his body to the side, holding out Death's Grace in such a way that her rapier went grinding down it.

He moved forward once again, and he unleashed a flurry of swipes, focusing on the chest area, and just when she was about to retaliate with her own attack, he used his semblance, and the clone went straight through her, appearing behind her, and he he was able to score a blow to her back, and he didn't let up, delivering a barrage of powerful sword slashes all over her body, and thanks to the additional attacks with his semblance, Weiss was forced back against one of the crates, and he went in for a another blow, but this one didn't land, and his strike knocked over the crate.

Aware that she was behind him, he turned around and was able to grab her rapier, trapping her in a ideal position for him to go on the offensive once again, and he seized the opportunity, kicking her in the stomach before bringing his foot down on her head, knocking her to the ground. He lifted his sword up, and went for a finishing blow, but Weiss rolled back, and came at him once again.

He ducked underneath her attempted slice on his head, and dropped himself to the floor and quickly sprung forward, bringing his foot forward in a kick on her leg. It connected and she staggered backwards. He straightened himself back up and spun his sword in a horizontal arc, and she backflipped underneath it, and he repeated the same move once again, catching her off guard and she was forced to bring her rapier up to guard against the slash.

Keeping up the momentum, he knocked her rapier to the side when she tried to thrust him again, and in that split second moment, he took out his pistol and shot her in the stomach, causing her aura to flare up. He spun around with his foot and roundhouse kicked her in the head, dropping her once again. Not willing to give her a chance to recuperate, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back up to her feet, but she brought her feet up to his chest, kicking backwards, creating some space.

She whipped her rapier around in a circle, and a pale blue circle formed in front of her, meaning she had created the force field once again.

_How do I get around that? _

A idea popped into his mind. He took his two pistols out and put them together, forming the small shotgun, and threw his sword in a spinning arc towards her. As expected, the force field came up, but Death's Grace kept on spinning, applying constant pressure to it, forcing her to focus on keeping the force field up, giving him the opportunity to rush around her and come at her from the side and she dropped the force field and leapt to the side to confront him, and he dodged her kick, before grabbing her by the leg, bringing her to the floor, and twisted her leg, earning a small yelp of pain before letting go of her and picked Death's Grace up, and she jumped back up to her feet, and the two of them went back and forward for a second, before Weiss suddenly jumped backwards and held her rapier out in front of her.

A giant clock formed at her feet, and the hands of the clock went spinning around like crazy. Not knowing what she was doing, but not intending on finding out, Daniel jumped forward and brought his leg out, kicking her before she could finish what she was trying to do.

All of a sudden, several glyphs began to appear around him, and Weiss suddenly jumped up onto one, and came flying downwards, her rapier posed and ready to strike. He spun his sword around in a circle, helping to negate most of the damage as she went flying past him in several different directions and just when she was coming at him for the last time, he brought his fist back and punched her in the face as hard as he could. The impact was astounding, sending Weiss flying back into the wall. It was only then that Daniel realised that she had a scar on the right side of her face.

_There's no way I just caused that. Did I? _

She had already risen back up to her feet, so there was no time to think about that. He readied himself as she came at him once again.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_Oh no, not her again. _

Lucy immediately recognised the blonde girl as the one who had blown up the Paladin in a single punch. She cast a quick glance at Luna, who had was holding Lunar Eclipse out in front of her, poised and ready to strike. There was a brief face off for a moment, before Luna made a run for them. Lucy stood back for a second and waited for Luna to draw first blood. Yang drew her fist back and tried to punch her, but Luna ducked underneath it and brought her foot up, blasting Yang with a kick, before quickly turning her attention to Blake, who had attempted to strike Luna down, but found herself caught in a throw, and Luna tossed her towards Lucy.

Lucy caught Blake in a chokehold, and was about to slam her down into the ground before Blake was able to wriggle her way free and rolled forwards, turning back around and facing Lucy, who quickly pulled out her daggers. Lucy struck out at Blake, who backflipped to avoid it, and the two of them were soon caught in a intense back and forth. Blake used her clone to dodge another slash, before she was suddenly forced to jump to the side as Yang came crashing down, but she was quickly able to get back up and charge at Luna once again, who leaped over her head and came back down on her arm, catching her in a armlock.

In that brief moment of hesitation from Blake, Lucy leapt forward and blasted her with a kick to the side of the head, before keeping up the pace with a slash to the leg, however, Blake jumped straight up, dodging it, and bringing her foot up in a kick of her own, but Lucy raised her daggers to block it, and then slashed forwards, forcing Blake back, and she then spun around and rolled underneath Blake's strike, before throwing one of her daggers at Yang, and leaping back to avoid Blake. The dagger didn't hit home, as Yang ducked underneath it, but Luna raised her other hand out and caught it.

With only one dagger in her hand, Lucy attempted to backhand Blake in the face with her other hand, but that proved useless when Blake once again used a clone to get away from her. A loud thud was suddenly heard when Luna pushed Yang back against the wall. Lucy raised her dagger and brought it down in a horizontal slash, and she got the biggest surprise of her life when it came into contact with ice. Blake had created another clone, but this one was reinforced with ice, and with horror, Lucy realised that not only was her dagger stuck in it, but her whole hand was caught as well. It was absolutely freezing, unsurprisingly. There was absolutely no chance of her pulling it out.

Realising that she wasn't going anywhere, Blake turned around to help Yang, rushing at Luna, who jumped backwards, and grabbed Blake by her arm, and when Yang came slamming down, she caught her by the arm as well. She then proceeded to jump up and kick both of them at the same time, before whipping her chain around Yang's arm and quite literally throwing her into Blake, and they both went crashing into the floor. Luna quickly rushed to Lucy and drew her khopesh back, slicing through the ice, and Lucy pulled hand free. Luna handed Lucy her other dagger before engaging Yang and Blake once again. Lucy watched for a moment as she flipped over both of there heads, knocking Blake back with a elbow to the head, and jumped backwards, hitting Yang with a bicycle kick.

Lucy, realising this was her chance, rushed towards the three of them, before slashing a dazed Yang, and Luna came to her side, striking Yang with the back of her hand, before kneeing her in the chin. Lucy turned back around and ducked underneath a incoming attack from Blake, and Luna was able to whip her chain around Gambol Shroud, before pulling backwards, causing Blake to trip and come stumbling forward, putting her in a perfect position for Lucy to grab her by the hair, and brutally kneeing her in the head, causing Blake to snap back, before roundhouse kicking her, sending her flying back into the wall.

With Blake out of the fight for a moment, both Lucy and Luna turned their attention onto Yang, who fired shots from Ember Celica at both of them, and Lucy rolled back, while Luna rolled forwards, catching Yang by the hand and twisting her wrist, and attempted to stab her khophesh into Yang's gauntlets in hopes of breaking them and rendering them useless, but Yang punched out with her other hand, which Luna was forced to deflect by taking her weapon away and raising it up. The force of Yang's punch sent her flying backwards, and while she was flying towards Blake, who had risen back to her feet, she wrapped her legs around her head and twisted downwards, spiking Blake's head into the floor.

Lucy deflected a few of Yang's attempted blows, before spinning around and elbowing her in the face, and pressing the attack, delivered several kicks to her chest area, and finished it off with a final backhand strike to the face, knocking her back to where Blake and Luna were still duking it out. Luna went for a spinning kick, but Blake jumped back, making a clone out of fire dust, and when Luna's foot came into contact with it, it exploded, and she was knocked back into the wall next to where Lucy was standing , hitting it hard with a loud thud. Just as the two duos were about to engage once again, the door suddenly opened behind them, and Weiss was sent hurtling next to Blake and Yang. She was breathing hard, and staring at Daniel as he stepped into the car.

Lucy grinned at the three students. "Well kids, I'm afraid your in for it now."

Yang made to step forward, but Blake suddenly jerked her head backwards, causing all three of them to back up. Without another word, they turned around and sprinted away from them. Lucy and Luna looked up at Daniel for a brief moment, before he took off after them, and they both followed.

They followed them up to the top of the train, where they were reunited with Roman and Neo, who were both trying to hold back Ruby and Oobleck, with the help of the White Fang.

"Oh, thank heavens you three are finally here!" Roman shouted, as he ducked underneath a flying White Fang member. The rest of team RWBY had reunited with their leader, and they were all standing with Doctor Oobleck, who was taking out the White Fang. He grinned when he saw them. Lucy then noticed a small corgi, who suddenly rushed out and came to a stop in front of Oobleck.

"Eh, what are they doing?" Roman commented.

The dog looked back and barked loudly, before jumping up into the air and Oobleck hit him. Lucy was then treated to perhaps the most terrifying thing she had ever seen.

The corgi quite literally turned into a fireball, rocketing towards them at a intense speed.

_Nope, nope, nope! I am not dealing with this! _Lucy threw herself to the side, causing the corgi to go flying past her. She nearly tripped and fell off the train, but Luna grabbed her by the hand and pushed her away from the edge.

The corgi then proceeded to jump up and bite Roman's coat, dangling off it as he desperately tried to swat it off.

They were all forced to back up as team RWBY and Oobleck rushed forward to confront them. Roman was successful in detaching the corgi, and it ran behind him. Nobody payed the small pup any attention as the two sides rushed to meet each other, but a loud bark caught everyone's attention. The realisation then hit Lucy that the end of the tunnel was coming up, and they were heading full speed towards it.

"Well, shi-" She didn't get to finish her sentence before the train hit the end of the tunnel.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

Lily was sitting on a bench in city square, devouring a huge cup of sweets, wondering when this big event was going to happen. It had been rather peaceful in the city square, people were going about their day to day lives, no problem at all.

Jarah had been just as pleasant as she remembered, but she hadn't talked to him for long, more concerned about this event.

But as it currently stood, nothing terrible had happened. She did have a uneasy feeling though that something big was about to happen. She just didn't know what it was.

"Daddy, why does she have that sword thing?" Lily snapped to attention when she realised that someone was standing in front of her. It was a man, but he wasn't the one who had spoken to her. He was holding a small boy in his arms, who couldn't have been more than four years old. He was staring at her, with round, curious eyes.

"That's a huntress buddy." Lily smiled at the two of them. "She's one of the people who holds back the creatures of Grimm, and protects the people."

Lily took her weapon out and held it up so the young boy could get a closer look. "It's called NightSlayer."

"Why is it called that?"

"Because that's what I decided to call it."

"Oh." He seemed to be satisfied with that answer, and turned away from her. The man offered Lily a quick smile, and hurried on.

Lily put her weapon away, and took out her scroll. She had reread the text message Daniel had sent her a number of times. But instead of rereading it once again, she decided to scroll further up.

There was a huge four year gap, where she hadn't texted him at all, out of the realisation that he was never going to reply. He had probably been ashamed and weighed down by grief and sorrow, that's why he hadn't replied.

Or was it for a different reason? Maybe he had thought they would hate him. That if he did come back, they would scream and shout at him, and he wouldn't have wanted to deal with that.

_Whatever his reason may be, I'm just glad that he's talking to us again. _

It made her happy, it made Amy happy, and it was sure to have made him happy too. It was a win-win.

Lily scrolled up further, and read some of their Beacon text messages.

_Hey, it's Amy's birthday tomorrow Lily, you didn't forget, did you? _

_No, of course not. Why would I forget my own partner's birthday? _

_You did last year. _

_Did not! _

_I'm pretty sure you did. What have you bought her? _

_A set of books. _

_She barely reads a school textbook, do you honestly think she's going to willingly read a whole set of books? _

_I'll make her. What have you bought her? _

_Well, since it's coming to the end of this term, I thought it would be nice to buy her something for over the break. I'm buying her a puppy. _

_Aww, that's so cute! _

_Nicole's getting her some clothes, as well as making the cake. _

Lily recalled Amy's reaction. Daniel had trained the puppy in such a way, that it had hid under her bed, and when he snapped his fingers, it had come racing out. Amy had grabbed Daniel in the tightest hug imaginable, and she had named the puppy Aida. She was still alive today, although Amy hadn't been home in about four years, so she hadn't seen her since then.

Coming out of her messages with Daniel, she continued to scroll down, and came across her messages with Nicole. Even after all this time, she hadn't deleted them. It hurt her heart to read them, but she felt it was necessary from time to time. She sorted the messages into a certain year, meaning it would only show messages from that year. It was their first year at Beacon when these one's were sent.

_Lily, where are you right now? _

_In our dormitory, why?_

_Is everything okay with you and Amy? _

_No, she shouldn't be here. She should have never been accepted into Beacon, she cheated her way in! _

_Well, I've just been talking with Amy, and she's not really in the greatest of moods either. I think you should give her a chance. _

_Nicole, I don't think you get it. She cheated her way into Beacon, she's a waste of a student space! _

_You don't mean that. _

She sighed and put her scroll back into her pocket. If only Nicole was still here, Daniel would have never left Beacon, and it would have been fine.

A loud crash took her out of her thoughts. She stood up and walked over to get a better look. The barrier which had lead to the tunnels, which were supposed to be sealed, had broken. A plume of smoke had kicked up, and when it cleared, Lily got a closer look at who was there. She immediately recognised team RWBY, who were pulling themselves out of the wreckage of what appeared to be a train.

_That was the big event? A train rams it's way in? _

But things were about to get a whole lot worse. All of a sudden, a King Taijitu erupted from the wreckage, followed by a mass of Grimm. They began pouring out of the tunnels, and people began to panic and run away.

Lily threw the empty sweet cup at a Beowolf, before rushing in and slicing off it's head in a well placed slash. She observed the chaos for a brief moment, before running at the horde of Grimm.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


	28. Descent into Darkness

**Chapter 28: Descent into Darkness **

"Tell us where your base is or I'll… I'll…" Damion couldn't think of anything. Amy watched him and rolled her eyes.

They had brought the creature to a nearby rock and tied it down with some rope that had been given to them by Chasin. The interrogation process was not going well. It basically hadn't spoke at all.

"Has the cat got your tongue?" Damion prowled around it and brought his face up to it's. "You are very aware that you aren't going anywhere until you tell us something, right?"

It still didn't say anything, just lay there sprawled up against the rock. If it hadn't been for the fact that the things eyes were moving side to side, observing each of them, you probably would have thought it was dead.

"Hey" Samantha snapped her fingers in front of its face. "Earth to creepy human Grimm thing, are you there?"

Still nothing.

"Should we hit it or something?" Damion gave it a light smack across the face. It lifted its head up and looked at him. Then, it spat at him, and a black liquid came flying out of it's mouth and hit Damion on the chest.

"Ah! Uh, that's disgusting!" He ran a hand over his jacket and flung it off. "What is that?" The black liquid almost seemed to move across the ground, slithering along like it was alive, before disappearing into the ground.

"This isn't working." Bethany was standing next to Amy. "It won't talk, it won't do anything."

"You don't say."

Samantha walked over to the two of them, and put a hand on her hip. "What are we going to do? It's clearly not going to say anything. And it may be our only lead on what is taking these people."

"Do you not think maybe that's just it?" Bethany suggested. "That's the thing that's been killing those people, it's not a part of anything? Maybe if we just call the authorities and get them to take it in, then that's the mission over?" She looked up at Amy.

"That's possible, but we do need to consider the fact that there might be something bigger going on here. Maybe there's more of them, and if we just call it a day, then they'll just start kidnapping people all over again."

"Well, how do we get it to tell us where it's fellow…" Samantha tried to think of the right word to use. "Grimm humans are?"

Amy began pacing back and forth. "I honestly don't know." She suddenly stopped. "We may have to resort to torturing it."

Amy was not at all surprised at the shocked looks she was just given.

"You can't be serious!" Bethany said. "That thing… whatever it is, may have the markings of a Grimm, but it still looks like a human! It might have even been a human once."

"Guys, look-"

"Exactly!" Samantha cut Amy off. "What your saying we need to do, that's just inhuman. We can't do that."

"Can't do what?" Damion was looking over at them.

"Amy, we can't-"

"Unless you have any better ideas?" Amy cut them both off. She sighed softly. "I know it's wrong. I really do. I don't want to have to do it, but think about it like this. If we can get this thing to talk through this method, we could find out what's really going on, we could potentially save a lot of people's lives. Trust me, I hate the idea of it as much as you two do, but it's clear we aren't getting through to it by just talking. And besides, it may look like a human, but I'm not entirely sure it is a human anymore. It's our only option." She patted them both on the shoulder and began to walk to the creature.

She knew that they were still staring at her when she knelt down in front of it. She took Storm Chaser off her back and looked into the things eyes. They were a bright red, the colour of the Grimm. What Bethany had said could be true, maybe it had been a human once.

_But what… how could you transform a human into a Grimm? _It was a difficult question, and one Amy didn't have a answer to. She had never seen a Grimm that looked like a human before, most of them looked like animals. And the fact it could speak… No Grimm she had encountered had ever been able to speak.

_Maybe it's not a Grimm or a human. Maybe it's something else. _

Whatever it was, she had to get information out of it. She took the things hand, and a chill went down her spine, it's skin was freezing cold.

_Well, here we go then. _

She put the blade of Storm Chaser to it's arm, and just when she was about to slash it along…

"Wait, Amy, stop!"

Amy looked behind her. "Bethany, I've already told you-"

"I have an idea." Amy turned back to the creature, sighed loudly, and then stood up.

"Let's hear it then." She was secretly glad, she had never liked the idea of torturing someone for information.

"So, this is going to sound utterly crazy, but bear with me. I think what we should do is, we should let it go-"

"Your right, this does sound utterly crazy." Amy said. "But please continue."

"If this creature really is a part of some bigger thing, like say there is more than one of them, then it would make sense that they return there straight away, right?"

"Yeah."

"So we let it go, but then we follow it from a distance, and see what it does. If it is just working on it's own, it'll probably just hang around in some isolated spot by itself. Then we can get it again. If it's a part of something else, it should lead us straight there."

_That's… not a bad idea actually. _It was certainly a lot better than the whole torturing idea, because even if she did torture it, there was still no guarantee it would talk. It could have a extremely high pain tolerance for all she knew. Amy thought it was a pretty solid plan.

"Hey, nice job Beth. That's not half bad. I think we might do that." She stared down at the creature. "Anybody else have any other ideas?"

Damion and Samantha didn't say anything.

"Well, in that case then…" Amy began to unwind the rope that was keeping it trapped against the boulder. "Let's do it then."

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

"Do you really think is going to work?" Damion asked Samantha. "What if it's smarter than it looks, and it realises what we are going to do?"

Samantha shrugged. "Guess that's a chance we'll have to take."

Amy had practically just grabbed the thing, lifted it up and brought it to the front of the house, setting it down. It hadn't even fought back or tried to get her to put it down.

Now, it was time to wait to see what it would do. They all purposely turned their backs on it, pretending not to pay it any attention. Damion couldn't help but cast a quick glance over his shoulder out of curiosity.

_Come on then, do something. _

It stood there for a long moment, until suddenly, the red marking on it's hand began to glow brightly, and before he knew it, it was away. Before anybody could give the designated hand signal…

_Wait, did we even have a designated hand signal? _

He thought about that for a second, until suddenly Samantha slapped him on the shoulder while dashing past him.

"Damion, come on!"

"Oh, right! Sorry!" He ran after her, and he could only hope that Bethany and Amy were being at least somewhat quiet, or else there was a very strong chance that it would either hear or see them. Looking over Samantha's shoulder, he didn't see the creature, but he did see Amy, who was clearly tailing it. She charged headfirst into a forest after it, and they all followed, trying their best not to step on any twigs or anything like that, although with the sound of their pounding feet, it was highly likely that it had already heard them, defeating the whole point of the plan in the first place.

_I probably should have spoke out and said this was a bad idea… _It wasn't like the creature was going to take a leisurely stroll back. It was running, hard, and there was no chance it didn't know they were after it. The marking was still glowing though, strangely, and it had it's arm stretched out in front of it, like something was guiding it onwards, deeper and deeper into the forest.

They leaped over twigs, ducked underneath stray branches, and narrowly dodged past trees, all in a desperate race to not lose it, wherever it was going. Not that Damion actually paid much attention to it. He was just following the women in front of him, trusting that they would not lose it.

_What if they do lose it though? _

In that case, he had no idea what they were going to do. He nearly ran headfirst into a bush of spiky thorns, but was just able to leap over them. He continued to race onwards, wondering how in the world Samantha was able to stay ahead of him despite the fact she was wearing heels.

All of a sudden, Samantha came to a stop, but he wasn't able to put his own brakes on quick enough, and went slamming into her, knocking them both over, and they both landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"Damion! Why did you do that?"

"You stopped suddenly! It wasn't my fault!"

"Guys!" Bethany whispered. She was motioning them to come over. Damion inwardly grumbled about how women always blamed men for stuff like what had just happened, and they both gingerly made their way over.

Amy was standing just in front of them, peering through a cluster of leaves into a clearing, where the creature was standing. It still had it's hand out, and was staring at it's surroundings. It almost seemed confused, spinning around in a constant circle. Then it stopped suddenly, and put it's hands to the floor, and slowly trailed it along the ground for a second, before grabbing something. They all watched as it stood up, and pulled whatever it had grabbed up.

A trapdoor seemed to spawn out of nowhere, and it revealed a massive gaping hole. Damion couldn't see what lay beneath it, but it stepped into it, and was gone the next second. The trapdoor slammed shut.

"Uh, what?" Damion helpfully commented.

_What was that? _

Amy had already stepped out and was looking at the area of the ground it had just jumped into to. Much like it had done, she traced her finger across the floor.

"There's some weird, disguised trapdoor here it would seem. Now, where is it... Oh, there we go!"

She lifted it up, revealing the same black hole they had just seen a moment ago. Amy lowered it down for a brief moment, looking at the back of it. She wiped her hand along it, but the grass that was on the back of it didn't appear to be real, as it didn't come off.

"So, they set up a trapdoor, and put fake grass along the top of it. Clever."

"What do we do now?" Samantha said, staring down into the hole.

"Well, first of all, we need to check how deep it is." Bethany stated. She picked up a nearby rock and chucked it in. It took about seven seconds before it hit the floor.

"Okay, pretty deep then." Damion commented. "So, do we just… jump down it?"

Everybody shared glances with one another.

_Is that a yes then? _

"I guess so?" Bethany said.

"But we don't know what's down there." Samantha pointed out. "It could be incredibly dangerous."

Amy gave her a withering look. "If you didn't want danger, you shouldn't have become a huntress. Our lives are in danger all the time when we go on missions like these."

"No, I don't mean it like that." Samantha argued. "I mean we have no idea what's down there. Shouldn't we at least try to figure it out first? Have some kind of plan before we just throw ourselves down the hole?"

"And how exactly do you propose we figure out what is down the extremely dark hole?"

"Get ourselves a light source before we go down there?"

"Like a torch?"

"Yeah, there you go."

"Okay everyone, let's make a torch and hopefully not burn ourselves while hurtling through the air. It's not like it's a narrow hole either, no danger of setting the walls on fire either."

"What about our scrolls?" Bethany stated suddenly. "It has a torch on it." Damion looked at her.

_Of course! It has a torch on it! Duh! _He felt like smacking his forehead. And looking at Amy's expression, she wanted to do that too. Unlike Damion, she actually did smack her forehead.

"How did I forget that? Sorry guys, my brain stopped functioning there for a second. Yeah, we'll do that. I'll go down there first." Amy stepped forward, looked at her three students for a second, gave them a two fingered salute, and hopped down the hole, disappearing within seconds. Bethany went next.

"Don't expect me to catch you." Samantha said simply before jumping in after the two of them.

Damion, after casting a final glance at his surroundings, walked over, but he didn't jump, he tripped over something, and half fell, half collapsed into the hole, and before he knew it, he was racing downwards at a extremely fast pace.

It didn't last long however, as he soon facepalmed into something, breaking his fall. Obviously, they hadn't been holding their scrolls as they were falling, for fear of potentially dropping them, and so no light was available just yet. Damion pulled himself up to his feet, and realised something.

"Since when did the ground feel so… weird?"

"That's my back Damion." Amy stated. "Could you get off me now please?"

"Oh, sorry!" He quickly got off her.

"Ah, Samantha! Your heels are digging into my back! Get off me!" Bethany called out, not too far away.

Damion took his scroll out, and soon, the surrounding area was bathed in a pale blue light. Amy did the same, and they both saw Samantha, who was looking at Bethany sheepishly, while she glared at her.

"Are you serious Sam? You sure took your sweet time realising you were top on me!"

"Look, I'm sorry! Are you okay now?"

"Aside from having permanent back pains, yeah, sure, I'm fine."

"Sam, Beth, let's not do this now." Amy walked over to them. "Now, get your scrolls out, and have a look around."

And so they did. They appeared to be in a cave of some sort. Stretching out in front of them was the way forward. There were also two other alternate routes, to the left and right. Behind them, a wall of stone.

Amy was peering down the three routes, clearly wondering which one they were going to take.

"We can go right, left or forwards." She turned around and looked at them. "Alternatively, we can split up, and two of us go one way, the other two go-"

"No." Bethany said fiercely, cutting Amy off. She stepped forward and put her hands on Damion and Samantha's shoulders. "We aren't splitting up."

Amy cast her gaze over to Bethany, and smiled at her. "I thought you might say that. Well, in that case then…" She turned back around and continued looking at their routes.

Damion looked down at his team leader. "That was a tad dramatic, don't you think?"

She looked up at him. "After what happened with Alan, I would rather not run the risk of losing any more teammates." She took her hands away, and walked towards Amy.

Damion shared a glance with Samantha.

_And to think she didn't want to be the team leader…Besides, ever horror movie ever has taught me that splitting up usually doesn't end that well. _

Damion watched as Amy did "eeny meeny miny moe" to try and determine where they were heading. Eventually, her finger rested on the path directly in front of them.

"Okay then guys, we are going straight forward." Without waiting for any of them to say anything, she began to stride down the path. They all followed after her.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

_This place is so creepy… _

Bethany had the constant feeling she was about to get jumped. Her whole body was so tense, expecting an attack at any moment. The light of there scrolls was the only thing that kept her somewhat comforted. It really didn't help that she was reminded of the time that she used to be terrified of the dark. That fear had subsided, thankfully, but it was always present, always lurking in the back of her mind, just waiting for the right moment to pounce, like a wild animal.

_No, you can't think about that. You need to stay strong for your teammates. _

She glanced at Damion and Samantha, the two people who had been with her every since the start of her Beacon journey, who had been with her to witness what Alan was doing…

She couldn't help but wonder what he was doing now. He had slashed her right along the stomach and left. What was there for him to do? Did he go back home? Did he even have a home? Were his parents dead or alive? What had caused him to be so spiteful of her, despite her attempts to help him?

It was a question she would have to ponder over until she saw him again, if she saw him again.

She could faintly hear Amy humming something to herself, a song of some sorts probably. Bethany was actually quite glad she was doing it, glad for a little bit of white noise. Otherwise, they would have been in silence as well, which would certainly not have helped the tense atmosphere one bit.

All of a sudden though, Amy stopped dead in her tracks and held her hand out behind her.

"What is it?" Damion asked.

"Shh, keep your voice down! Can you not hear that?"

They all stood still for a moment and listened. Bethany then began to hear something, something very faint, but it was definitely there. It almost sounded like footsteps. Then, something rounded the corner ahead of them.

It was treading along the ground, and upon closer inspection, it looked very much like the creature they had encountered. However, this one took on a more feminine appearance, with long dark hair that reached all the way down to her ankles. She was barefoot, and was wearing a very plain long white and black dress.

"What in the world is that?" Samantha whispered.

"Get ready." Amy said. It was a very simple instruction, and one they all followed without question. Taking Honour and Liberty out, Bethany readied herself for something to happen.

Amy slowly and carefully being to make her way towards the female figure. She had her back turned and was slowly running her finger over the wall.

Both Damion and Samantha looked at Bethany. The implication was clear.

_Do we follow Amy? _

With a very quick nod of her head, they followed behind Amy, who was nearly at the women. Suddenly, the women turned her head, and saw them. It was such a quick movement that no one had any time to react.

Then, she screamed.

A noise so unbelievable high pitched entered everyone's ears, taking any sort of plan or tactic that may have been forming and discarding it like nothing. Bethany, Damion, and Samantha all fell to the ground, there hands clamped over there ears in a desperate attempt to make it stop.

But just as quickly as it started, it ended. The noise faded away, and whenever they all stood up again, they noticed that Amy must have killed it, because it was nowhere to be seen.

"Dear me, what was that? That was awful!" Damion stated, picking up his pistol swords, which he had dropped.

Retrieving their scrolls, they rejoined Amy, who had fallen to one knee, Storm Chaser in one hand, the other still over her ear.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bethany asked. Amy slowly raised her hand and gave them a thumbs up.

"Oh my gosh, that is the worst ringing in my ears I have ever had." She got back up to her feet, and then stumbled to the side suddenly, so much so, that Bethany stepped forward and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Woah, are you sure your alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, just feeling a bit dizzy, that's all."

"How did you even kill it?" Samantha asked.

"Well, as soon as it started screaming, I just rushed it and stabbed it. The scream was absolutely deafening though. Seems to have left me a bit disoriented. But, I'll be fine. Thanks for the catch, Beth. You can let go of me now."

Bethany took her hand away, unsure if she was just lying so they wouldn't worry. Amy walked away from them, hand on the side of her head, but she didn't stumble again, so that left them with the impression that she was feeling better. Either that or she was just really good at pretending she felt better.

"That thing looked very similar to the one we had tied to the rock not so long ago." Samantha said.

"Do you reckon there's more of them?" Bethany said.

"Well, guess we'll have to find out." Damion put his pistol swords away, and they all followed Amy.

_**Criminals and Mentors**_

**Thanks for reading and have a good day! **


End file.
